18 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: direction, discernment, faith, freedom, God's time, growth, hope, identity, living
Shout triumphantly to the LORD , all the earth! Serve the LORD with celebration! Come before him with shouts of joy! Know that the LORD is God— he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture. Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the LORD is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation. ~Psalm 100:1-5 (CEB)
Indeed, the Church has a future; it has the future. This is the eighth day which passes description and cannot be foreseen, the day on which God will complete his work of creation, the Church will reach the goal of its pilgrimage and the world will recognize its Lord. And that seventh age will be our Sabbath, a day that knows no evening, but is followed by the day of the Lord, an everlasting eighth day, hallowed by the resurrection of Christ, prefiguring the eternal rest not only of the spirit, but of the body as well. Then we shall have holiday and we shall see, we shall see and we shall love, we shall love and we shall praise. Behold, this is how it shall be at the end without end. For what else is our end, but to some to that kingdom which has no end?’ ~From The Church by Hans Kung
Heavenly Father, I thank you for Your loyal love that lasts forever. Help me to have the courage to live with my eyes on the eighth day to that time that I will finally be able to walk through Your gates with a joyful heart and enter Your courtyards singing Your praises. Amen.
17 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: community, faith, fear, freedom, hope, worship
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was with God in the beginning. Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being through the Word was life,and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. ~John 1:1-5 (CEB)
As Christians we live by faith in God, and we carry within us the notorious hope that a life of faithfulness is indeed the best way to live. Our hope is that fidelity and faithfulness will result in a holy life and the comforting companionship of Jesus Christ. The rewards of peace and assurance of continued companionship with God in the life to come belong to every faithful Christian.
We hope for that which we do not see. The reward of holy living today is merely a hope for tomorrow. The rewards of peace and assurance may be ours today, but they are only a hope for tomorrow. The companionship of Jesus Christ is experienced today but is only a hope for tomorrow. The promise that this ordinary life can be invested in the extraordinary reign of God today and tomorrow is the hope that encourages us to do what we can where we are to makes God’s will known and real.
When disease, disaster, death, or triumph strike, we are filled with hope because our ultimate trust is in God. Our worlds and wealth may crumble; disease and disaster may lay hold on what and whom we value; but followers of the Christian way continue to be hopeful. We hold onto hope because we are filled with faith that God is able to consummate the promise made to redeem and transform all who turn their lives toward God. ~From Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Ruben P. Job
My hope is in You today O Lord. I thank You for the rewards of peace and assurance that you promise me for today. Reign in my heart and give me courage to make your sovereignty known to others. Amen.
11 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: depression, direction, discernment, faith, God's time, God'sLove, growth, hope, living, Second chances
Those who stand firm during testing are blessed. They are tried and true. They will receive the life God has promised to those who love him as their reward. No one who is tested should say, “God is tempting me!” This is because God is not tempted by any form of evil, nor does he tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted by their own cravings; they are lured away and enticed by them. Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. ~James 1:12-16 (CEB)
The twelve all had a good beginning with Jesus. Their signs of loyalty, fidelity, and faithfulness came often in their brief time with Jesus. And yet in many of the crucial times for Jesus and for them, the truth is that they drifted astray. They lost sight of Jesus and his way and focused on themselves and their way.
A good beginning is wonderful to experience and to observe. Even more wonderful is to see a woman or a man full of years and still full of goodness and faith. To observe a marriage that is marked by fidelity and unqualified love after a half century of living brings hope and encouragement to all who desire strong families and strong communities. Faithfulness is a wonderful thing to experience and to observe.
Some congregations have remarkable and almost miraculous beginnings. Beginnings that are marked by rapid growth and transformation of nearly every life that enters their sphere of ministry. These congregations’ transforming ministry touches every part of their community, and that community is forever changed. Faithfulness is a wonderful thing to experience and to observe.
There are denominations that carry a precious part of the gospel’s treasure in such faithful ways that the world is a better place because God has given them life. Their faithfulness in good times and bad, in wealth and poverty, provides direction and encouragement for all who choose to live a life of goodness and holiness. Faithfulness is a wonderful thing to experience and to observe.
The bad news is that individuals, congregations and denominations can drift astray. It happens so easily. It happens the moment we lose our center we begin to lose our way. We know it does not have to be that way because every day we can keep our eyes upon Jesus Christ and ask for guidance and grace to remain faithful. The good news Christians share is that Jesus Christ is able and willing to guide and enable us on our journey toward our true home with God. ~From A Guide to all Who Pray, Rueben P. Job
Thank You heavenly Father for sending Jesus into the world to guide me on my journey towards You. Help me to stay centered in Your will this day. Guide my steps and give me enough grace to remain faithful. Amen.
10 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: community, compassion, direction, discernment, faith, freedom, God'sLove, identity, living, loving one another
“I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” ~John 13:34-35 (CEB)
“The shalom bringers spread a sense of warmth, comfort, hope, and well-being even before a word is spoken. They themselves are the interlinking, not just their words and actions. They do not talk about religion all the time. They are not constantly telling us to cheer up and look on the bright side. They may not say anything special at all, but when we are with them we feel understood, accepted, welcomed.
When we think of these men and women in our lives, we feel as if God is reaching out to us through them. We know that if God is like them- only much more so- then the universe is in safe hands. The glory of God shines through their faces and touches us through their hands.
We call them the children of God.”
~From Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey by Flora Slosson Wuellner
May I be known this day O Lord, by Your Love that flows out from me. Thank You for the love, comfort hope warmth and kind word You have given me through others. Guide and direct my steps this day that I may in turn love as You would have me love. Amen.
09 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: change, community, compassion, direction, discernment, faith, freedom, growth
But whenever someone turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. ~2 Cor. 3:16-17 (CEB)
“Here, O God, I pray for a realization of my condition in your eyes. Help me to see and know myself as you see and know me. Give me clear insight into my relationship with you. Let me know myself as you know me.
Give me assurance that I belong to you. Remove from me those nagging doubts and needless fears that I may not be good enough to be numbered with the great company of heaven.
On the other hand, if I am living in separation from you, if I am more a creature of evil than a child of God, O Great Physician, use your convicting scalpel on me. Perform within me the surgery necessary to heal me of all soul-sickness.
Christ, I abandon myself to you. Do with me every necessary thing to assure my entrance into eternal lif- and the heaven already prepared for me.” ~Norman Shawchuck
Amen.
08 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: community, compassion, direction, discernment, faith, freedom, God'sLove, hope, identity, loving one another
I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statues and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ~Ezek. 11:19-20 (NRSV)
“When we were traveling in India, . . . we had the unforgettable experience of talking with Mother Teresa. We remember savoring that time: the sunlight on the balcony, her wise and wrinkled face with piercing eyes, the sisters in the courtyard below doing laundry, and her parting words, ‘Please pray for us that we will be faithful, and not interfere with God’s works.’
In the immediacy of that moment, we were given a gift- and that gift involved what we should and could do (be ‘faithful’), and what we shouldn’t do (‘interfere with God’s work’). She truly believed that she and her sisters- whose devotion to God and care of the rejected and dying ones in our world is legendary- needed to be aware of this possibility and to guard against getting in the way of God’s work. Those who criticize Mother Teresa for not attacking the systemic problems that cause persons to be sick and hungry and dying on the streets of Calcutta and Chicago may be called to do that very thing. But Mother’s calling was to share compassion and love and to feed and hold the dying. Each of us must discern and answer our own unique call.
Mother Teresa’s request presupposes that God is active and that we only muck up the situation when we forget that our understanding is partial. We must avoid the temptation to play God!” ~From Sacramental Living by Dwight W Vogel and Linda Vogel
What a reminder that we are not called to do it all. We are called to do our part. If we all do our part, some will do the feeding, the holding, the loving and others will fight the battles that attack the root causes and injustices for hunger and suffering. What part are you called to do?
Heavenly Father, Help me discern my part of the battle against hunger and suffering. Help me to be faithful this day and to not interfere with Your work in the world. Amen.
06 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: compassion, direction, discernment, faith, God'sLove, hope, identity, living, loving one another
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death… Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do” forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. ~Phil 3:10, 13-14 (NRSV)
“Probably our journey of forgiveness will be impossible unless we realize we cannot do it alone. We are not the source of our healing. Truly the kingdom of God within us as Jesus told us. But that kingdom is God’s presence, and we need God’s help to experience that inner glory.
As with any deep dealing and release, the empowered mercy of God within and around us is ours to claim. We must face the facts: we are vulnerable (woundable); we have been hurt; we need to name our hurt and our deep needs as clearly and fully as we can. Little can change until we have faced where we actually are.” ~From Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey by Flora Slosson Wuellner
It is hard to be about the work of God if I have not taken the time to know where I come from. I cannot be in God’s presence if my mind or heart is stuck in a place in the past. God is found in the present-ness of life. God’s kingdom on earth is that peace in my heart that goes beyond my current circumstances. God’s peace is that ability to reach out to others in the midst of my own pain. In that reaching out I see God’s love in action and my heart becomes flesh again.
Heavenly Father, please replace this heart of stone for Your heart. Help me feel Your presence in my life this day. Help me to experience that inner glory and peace that You have promised to me. Amen.
05 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: direction, discernment, faith, freedom, hope, identity, living
This is my prayer , that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. ~Phil 1:9-11 (NRSV)
“Action, just as silence and the word, can help us to claim and celebrate our true self. But here again we need discipline, because the world in which we live says, ‘Do this, do that, go here, go there, meet him, meet her.’ Busyness has become a sign of importance. Having much to do, many places to go, and countless people to meet gives us status and even fame. However, being busy can lead us away from our true vocation and prevent us from drinking our cup.” ~From Can You Drink the Cup? By Henri J. M. Nouwen
So often I fall into that trap of “If I am busy then I must be about God’s work”. That is not always true, especially if it was not my work to do in the first place. I must always be mindful to seek God’s will in the work of my hands so that I do not interfere with His ultimate plan.
Heavenly Father, help me to discern the work that is meant for my hands. Help me to not interfere in Your work. Guide me along the path that you have created for me so that I may help in the building up of Your kingdom. Amen.
04 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: change, community, compassion, direction, discernment, dissapointments, faith, God's time, God'sLove, growth, living
And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit ~2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV)
“Our questions can serve us well in a time such as this, a time of grave uncertainty, of soaring potential, of fragile yet resilient hope. Our questions and questing are crucial, because they can help us live into the answer of the future. I am certain of one thing: the love that is God is at the heart of the answer, just as it is at the heart of each moment- past, present, and future. Faith today, tomorrow, and always seeks to live, to love, and to be loved fully. It seeks the Holy and waits (though not always patiently) to be found; it nurtures and activates wisdom and compassion. It chooses to embrace hope and to be embraced by hope, even when overwhelmed by despair; it seeks life even in the face of death. We act in faith, knowing that we see only dimly. But living in faith, we act anyway, choosing and doing the best we can. We act and live in confidence that someday we will see face to face, that we will live into the answers. For God’s grace embraces our questions as well as our answers and our blindness as well as our vision, just as the sun shines steadily through the night, waiting to illumine the sky at dawn.” ~From Wrestling till Dawn by Jean M. Blomquist
I cannot run from the questions that haunt my heart. I must not assume that God criticizes me for even having questions. It is when I wrestle with the questions that I come to find the answers. I must remember that God is big enough to handle all my questions. He knows that it is in my questions that the veil begins to life. Through my questions I begin to be transformed.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your patience in all the questions I have. Thank You for pointing me in the right direction to discover the answers. Help me to see more clearly and to have the patience to wait out the answers. Amen.
02 Mar 2013
by jennifermcintyreblog
in Devotions
Tags: change, direction, discernment, faith, freedom, growth, identity, living, transformation
“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven. ~Matthew 5:13-16 (CEB)
“When we think of models of the transformed life, we naturally turn to the saints of the past or look at more contemporary heroes of faithfulness like Mother Teresa or Douglas Steeve. Because we do, we often overlook those near us who daily claim the power of God to live life at a higher level than it could be lives alone.
Living a transformed life is not possible on our own. Most of us do not live up to the best that we know how to live. Deep within we know that there is room for improvement. We can do better. Connecting our desire to do and be better with God’s amazing grace creates a partnership that transformation.
We know that living a transformed life means living at God’s direction with grace-given capacity. This is more than we can do on our own, and, in fact, living the transformed life does not mean trying harder. It means trusting more and staying close to the only One who can make us more than we are.
As we learn to put our trust and faith in God, we become open and available to receive God’s forming and transforming power in our own lives. In our better moments we know that it is God at work within us that provides the transformation. This is the day to claim God’s leads to presence and help as you live the transformed life.” ~From A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Ruben P. Job
May Your Presence be in my life today O Lord, transforming me into a light that shines for others to see. I thank You for the grace you so freely give me every moment. Thank You for making me more than I am on my own. Amen.
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