A God that woos

02 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

Teach me your way, O Lord,

That I may walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

And I will glorify your name forever. ~Psalm 86:11-12 (RSV)                                                                       

“God is, above all else, a being of immense beauty. It is this beauty that continues to draw us and enfold us in eternal goodness. This mysterious Beloved is forever wooing us, longing for us to be totally immersed in love of the purest kind. As I look at my life, I count as my greatest blessing the gift of God’s own essence. Being able to know this wondrous God of beauty, being embraced and welcomed home time and again, all of this is truly powerful.

I see this immense goodness of God reflected in every variety of people and in all the facet of the universe that sing out the goodness of the Creator. Each one mirrors the essence of God’s beauty. Each one is a vessel filled with manifestations of the Creator. I know this beauty, also, within myself, in the silent encounters deep within my own being. Every once in a while, each of us senses, for a moment, this rare blessing of the touch of God. Brief as it is, it is enough to remind us that there is an underlying harmony beneath all the chaos. There is an eternal beauty giving a loving texture to all of life.” ~From The Cup of Our Life by Joyce Rupp

I thank You, Heavenly Father, for blessing me with another day. You are my greatest gift. You are my biggest treasure. You are the music my heart sings. I thank You for calling to me every morning. Amen.

Belief in the Church

29 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews. ~1 Thes. 2:13-14 (CEB)

The Church is an object of faith.  In the Apostles’ Creed we pray:  “I believe in God, the Father … in Jesus Christ, his only Son – in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”  We must believe in the Church!  The Apostles’ Creed does not say that the Church is an organization that helps us to believe in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  No, we are called to believe in the Church with the same faith we believe in God.

Often it seems harder to believe in the Church than to believe in God.  But whenever we separate our belief in God from our belief in the Church, we become unbelievers.  God has given us the Church as the place where God becomes God-with-us.

O God, who through the grace of Your Holy Spirit purs the gift of love into the hearts of Your faithful people: Grant me health, both of mind and body, that I may love You with my whole strength, and with a glad hear perform those things which are pleasing to You; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. ~adapted from The Book of Worship

Invitation to living

27 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter- in- law against her mother- in- law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ~Matt 10:34-39 (CEB)

“Choosing life seems like the reasonable thing to do. If given the choice why would anyone not choose life? It seems foolish to choose anything else, to choose anything less than the best. It remains a mystery to me that we often find ourselves choosing what dimensions life and leaves us less than we were before. But we are often unaware of the consequences of our choices until later, sometimes much later.

Jesus always invites us to choose life by forsaking our way of life for his way of life. It is never and easy choice. Choosing to walk with Jesus in a culture that ridicules faithfulness and glorifies violence is to choose a way with coast attached. When you choose to walk with Jesus in a culture that rewards those who take for themselves before thinking about others, you may end up feeling someone has taken advantage of you. And yet, as the decades pass and we look back, it is clear to see that those who sought advantage by taking advantage have in reality lost life. Those who chose to walk with Jesus in the hard decisions and in the good times have discovered richness to life beyond price. At times it may seem that the cost of choosing life is too high, but when you stop and think about it, choosing life is the only reasonable choice to make.” ~Rueben P. Job, A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God

Almighty God, You have sent Jesus to show me how to live. Grant me the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I may follow him in faithfulness all the days of my live. Amen.

Chains of self-reliance

23 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , ,

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ~Mark 10:17-27 (CEB)

“There are some who resign themselves, but they attach conditions to it. They do not trust in God completely, so they take pains to provide for themselves just in case. Some offer everything at first, but later, beaten down by temptations, they go back to their old ways and thus make little progress in virtue. People like these will not gain the true freedom of a pure heart nor the grace of a joyful intimacy with me unless they surrender themselves unconditionally and offer themselves as a sacrifice to me each day. Without this total self-surrender a joyful union between us cannot exist, either now or ever.” ~From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

Almighty God, I come to You today seeking freedom that only You can give. Help me to break these chains of self-reliance. Help me to depend solely on You. Amen.

Ponder and meditation

22 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy.

 What god is great like our God?

You are the God who works wonders;

you have made known your might among the peoples.

You with your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. ~Psalm 77:12-15 (CEB)

“You will think, Sisters, that since so much has been said about this spiritual path it will be impossible for anything more to be said. Such a thought would be very foolish. Since the greatness of God is without limits, [God’s] works are too. Who will finish telling of [God’s] mercies and grandeurs? To do so is impossible, and thus not be surprised at what was said, and will be said, because it is but a naught in comparison to what there is to tell of God. [God] grants us a great favor in having communicated these things to a person through whom we can know about [God]. Thus the more we know about [God’s] communication to creatures the more we will praise [God’s] grandeur and make the effort to have esteem for souls in which the Lord delights so much. Each of us has a soul, but since we do not prize souls as is deserved by creatures made in the image of God we do not understand the deep secrets that lie in them.” ~From The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila

Almighty God, Help me ponder this day all the work You have done in my life. Help me to remember the mighty deeds You have performed. Thank You for the grace and mercy You have shown me. Amen.

To have vision

21 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , , ,

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law.”
Proverbs 29:18 (NASB)

“True mystics are not necessarily those who have visions, but rather those who have vision. They see the extraordinary, the mystical, in everyday events. If we desire such vision, we will have to give our brains a bath! Our minds must be cleansed of prejudgments about what God looks like. We will have to take a brush and scrub away all those grade school pictures of God and erase all the statements made by saints about their experience of the Divine Mystery. Only then can we begin to see the true picture.” ~From In Pursuit of the Great White Rabbit by Edward Hays

Heavenly Father, give me the vision this day to see the extraordinary in the everyday moments of my life. Help me to see this world and You as You truly would have me see. Amen.

Called

20 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , ,

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. ~John 12:20-26 (CEB)

“What has your attention at this very moment? This readying? Perhaps, but we all know that we can give modest attention to several things at once. We eat, read, and listen for the phone all at the same time. When our search for something consumes all our energy and all our faculties, everything else fades away and disappears. Even a ringing phone goes unanswered when we are seeking to give answer to another call deep within. What are you searching for that consumes all your energy and attention? The quest for God is a search worthy of such all-consuming passion and energy. The biblical record indicates that such a search is always generously rewarded.

Jesus asked two of John’s disciples (John 1:38) what they were looking for and invited them to come and see where and how he lived. The desire to know and be near to God has been placed within as an invitation to a lifelong quest for companionship with the divine. And yet, from personal experience we know that sometimes we look in all the wrong places. These disciples of Jesus were invited to continue their search where Jesus was and not where he was not. Our directions are certainly as plain as theirs are.

What are you looking for today and where will your search be successful? The quest for God is always successful when carried out where God is to be found. Where shall we begin our search? The deep inner rooms of our own soul, sacred scriptures, the book of history, current events, the lives of the saints, the poor and oppressed seeking our compassion, and the creation itself offer places where God has been most readily found in the past. Today pay attention to what has your undivided attention and follow the clues to a closer walk with God.” ~Rueben P. Job, A Guide to All Who Seek God

Almighty God, grant that in my worship of You this day that I may present my body as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to You. By the power of Your holy spirit make me strong to follow Your will this day. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Acceptance and delight

18 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live. ~Ecc. 5:18-20 (MSG)

“If I am not at home with myself I won’t feel at home anywhere else. It is such a delight to come home to myself, to become my own friend. I experienced this kind of homecoming once when I was living alone. Under the guise of ministering to others I had become alienated from myself. In my everyday maddening ministerial rush I suddenly discovered myself eating on the run- grabbing a sandwich and eating it while standing up or going out to the door. The violence of this great irreverence to myself suddenly occurred to me. I was not at home with myself. It took a while to slow down, but I was finally able to make a decision to spend time with myself. I began to experience the joy of being with me. I put a flower on the table, lit a candle, turned on soft music, ate slowly. I learned the joy of simply being with myself without rushing. It was like taking myself out to dinner. It was a kind of coming home to myself. When you can lovingly be present to yourself, your presence to others takes on a deeper quality also.” ~From A Tree Full of Angels by Macrina Wiederkehr

Heavenly Father, help me to slow down today. Help me to take care of myself, to take time to laugh and to do my best whatever task I may be about. Help me this day to make the most of what You give me and the ability to fully enjoy it. Amen.

In this moment

14 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

“Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matt. 6:25-34 (CEB)

“As we grow older, we tend to become  control freaks. We need to control everybody and everything, moment by moment, to be happy. If the now has never been full or sufficient, we will always be grasping, even addictive or obsessive. If you’re pushing yourself and others around, you have not yet found the secret of happiness. It’s okay as it is. This moment is as perfect as it can be. The saints called it the ‘sacrament of the present moment.'”~From Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Heavenly Father, Help me to live in this moment. Help me not to be in a rush for tomorrow to come or blinded by my past regrets. Help me to see the beauty and joy that You have sent my way for this day. Amen.

To see Christ in the world

12 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:

Though he was in the form of God,

he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.

But he emptied himself

by taking the form of a slave

and by becoming like human beings.

When he found himself in the form of a human,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore, God highly honored him

and gave him a name above all names,

so that at the name of Jesus everyone

in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow

and every tongue confess that

Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~Phil. 2:5-11 (CEB)

“For many of us . . . the great and poignant challenge is precisely to see God on earth. . . . We labor to discern meaning in the mess of hectic days, to find God in the torque of stressful work, demanding family life, and complicated friendships. And when the days of travail are upon us, when suffering consumes our energy and despair spreads its unwelcome scent around us, how can we live faithfully before God in the chaos of God’s apparent absence? Paul’s image is apt: We see God on earth as if through a glass mirror, but darkly (1Cor. 13:12). It is not simply that what we are able to see is a mere reflection of the real thing. This reflection is also distorted, obscure, maddeningly enigmatic.

Jesus lived to its fullest our pained bewilderment. A terrible longing to see God surges through those shattering words the crucified Messiah recalled from the Psalter: ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matt. 27:46; Ps. 22:1). This cry of desolation, unthinkable from him who so intimately knew God as ‘Abba,’ reveals how completely Jesus is one with us in our need to see God nearby when the mists of the incomprehensible or intolerable overtake us. But more is revealed in Jesus’ anguish than his solidarity with suffering humanity. His darkening passage into death illumines with the intensity of a lightning bolt God’s pledge to be unconditionally present for us. In that molten moment, the cross of God’s most intense presence, the birthplace of a new creation. In this new creation, the One who chose to become one with us establishes the astonishing possibility of our becoming one with the risen Christ. By grace through faith, we may even share the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16; Phil 2:5) and therefore also begin to see life with the vision of Christ. As we experience a deepening participation in the mind of Christ, our capacity to see God on earth is expanded, although not without continued struggle.” ~From “Editor’s Introduction” by John S. Mogabgab in Weavings March/April 1998

Lord Jesus, You demonstrated faithfulness in all of life, even to death on the cross. Grant unto me grace and strength to follow you faithfully all the days of my life. Amen.

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