A new day

17 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

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

Thus says the Lord,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

 “For your sake I send to Babylon

and bring them all down as fugitives,

 even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.

I am the Lord, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, your King.”

Thus says the Lord,

 who makes a way in the sea,

a path in the mighty waters,

who brings forth chariot and horse,

army and warrior;

they lie down, they cannot rise,

 they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

“Remember not the former things,

nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

 I will make a way in the wilderness

 and rivers in the desert.

The wild beasts will honor me,

 the jackals and the ostriches,

 for I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

the people whom I formed for myself

 that they might declare my praise. Isaiah 43:14-21 (CEB)

“We often think of a new day as a point of new beginning. However, we know that new beginnings are available all the time. Life itself provides a constant opportunity to grow, and to grow is to become new, to have a new beginning. How is God calling you to begin anew today? Think for a moment about those areas in your life where new life is waiting to be born.

There is always opportunity for a new beginning in our relationship with God. Because God is infinite, unlimited possibilities for growth and starting anew exists. No matter how intimate the companionship we share with Jesus Christ today, there is room for growth and new beginnings.

While our relationships with others do not have the range or depth or opportunity for growth, there is nevertheless room for fresh beginnings with family, friends, colleagues, coworkers, neighbors, caregivers, and those strangers who serve us day by day in shop, gas station, and restaurant. We have in our possession the key to changing- making new- each of these relationships. What slight or radical change is God calling you to make in relationship with God and with those persons who cross your life path every day? Follow the prompting God gives and launch a new beginning in this new day.” ~Rueben P. Job

Almighty God, send the light of Your Son inot my life anew today. Let Your presence touch my mind and heart with Your mercy, grace, and truth. Direct my thoughts, speech, and steps to the end that I may walk in Your way today and always. In the name of Christ. Amen

In You I trust

15 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

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

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Psalm 25:1-3

“You are the object of all good, the apex of life, the depth of wisdom. Your servants’ greatest consolation is to hope in you above all things. I turn my eyes to you. In you, my God, Father of mercies, I place my trust. Bless my soul and make it holy with your heavenly blessing; let it become your holy dwelling, the place of your eternal glory. Let nothing be found in your temple that may offend the eyes of your majesty. According to the greatness of your goodness and your many mercies, look down on me and hear the prayer of your poor servant, exiled far off in the land of the shadow of death. Protect and keep the soul of your servant, traveling amid the many dangers of life. By your grace, direct him along the path of peace until he is back home in the land of everlasting brightness. Amen.” ~From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

Living, today

08 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

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

Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ~1Peter 1:5-9 (NIV)

“Life, the contemplative knows, is a process. It is not that all the elements of life, mundane as the may be, do not matter. On the contrary, to the contemplative everything matters. Everything speaks of God, and God is both in and beyond everything.

Having the faith to take life one piece at a time- to live it in the knowledge that there is something of God in this for me now, here at this moment- is of the essence of happiness. It is not that God is a black box of full tests and trials and treats. It is that life is a step on the way to a God who goes the way with us. However far, however perilous.” ~From Illuminated Life by Joan Chittister

Almighty God, in the everyday ordinariness, may I see you. May I live this moment to its fullest so that my every waking moment glorifies You. May the regrets from yesterday or the worries for tomorrow not take away from the beauty that is, today. Amen.

Friend to my soul

13 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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

When they came to Emmaus, he acted as if he was going on ahead. But they urged him, saying, “Stay with us. It’s nearly evening, and the day is almost over. “So he went in to stay with them. After he took his seat at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts on fire when he spoke to us along the road and when he explained the scriptures for us?”

They got up right then and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying to each other, “The Lord really has risen! He appeared to Simon!” Then the two disciples described what had happened along the road and how Jesus was made known to them as he broke the bread. ~Luke 24:28-35 (CEB)

“I didn’t want it to happen but it did. Before I knew it, anxiety found its way into my restless heart and robbed me of the peace promised to all who place their trust in God. Ah, so that is the reason for my anxious heart: I forgot to trust in God!

Many demands upon our time and many opportunities waiting to be explored often fill our lives too full with activities and distractions. When this happens it is not surprising that we grow anxious and lose out sense of peace and tranquility. Today remember that God and God alone is able to care for all that exists; we can trust our smallest and largest concern to the wisdom and love of God. Peace, hope calm, and joy are the fruits of placing our confidence in God. May these gifts be yours in abundance.” ~Rueben P. Job, A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God

Almighty God, You who are the source of my life, strength, and ministry. In Your presence alone I find help, hope, and life. Send me out as a healing reminder of Your love to all whose lives I touch this day. I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The night shift

11 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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You are the one who lights my lamp—

the LORD my God illumines my darkness. ~Psalm 18:28 (CEB)

“There is always a night shift and sooner or later we are put on it. The praise does not cease with the fading of the light, but goes on through the spiritual night as well as the spiritual day. And if you are picked for the night shift- well, praise the Lord. Lift up your hands in the dark sanctuary of your soul when you are tempted to wonder what is the good of it all, and praise the Lord! And the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, will bless you from Zion.” ~From The Fruits of the Spirit by Evelyn Underhill

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good. Amen. –Thess. 2:16-17 (TEV)

Never alone

29 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

Right then, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake, toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying good- bye to them, Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray. Evening came and the boat was in the middle of the lake, but he was alone on the land. He saw his disciples struggling. They were trying to row forward, but the wind was blowing against them. Very early in the morning, he came to them, walking on the lake. He intended to pass by them. When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost and they screamed. Seeing him was terrifying to all of them. Just then he spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” He got into the boat, and the wind settled down. His disciples were so baffled they were beside themselves. That’s because they hadn’t understood about the loaves. Their hearts had been changed so that they resisted God’s ways. ~Mark 6:45-52 (CEB)

“There are those times in our lives when nothing seems to go as we planned. Times when day after day we are faced with difficulties and darkness no matter how much we long for lighter loads and light for our pathway. There are other times when we come from a spectacular high moment and suddenly find ourselves handing on to hope by our fingernails. While such a situation can be distressing, it is good to remember that we are not the first to experience darkness, difficulty, or disappointing surprises in the midst of faithful and sunny days.

Chapter 6 in Mark’s Gospel reports the rejection Jesus encountered in his hometown, the first missionary venture of the twelve, the death of John the Baptist, feeding the five thousand, Jesus’ walking on the water, and the healing in Gennesaret. In this one chapter we are confronted with the widest range of human emotion and experience, great miracles as well as great disappointment.

Our lives may be a bit steadier and the peaks and valleys a little more subdued than what Jesus and the twelve experienced. However, we do live through those periods when nothing seems to go our way, when the winds of life seem to be against us, when we are working hard but getting nowhere. So it was with the disciples as they strained at the oars against an adverse wind. Then Jesus appeared to them and uttered the words we all want to hear in the terror of our own personal storm: ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid’. The storm was over the moment Jesus was recognized by the disciples, and soon the men found themselves at their destination.

One of the best times for us to cultivate the nearness of God emerges when nothing is going our way. Such an experience may sharpen our ability to see God at work in our midst and in our lives. Remember that we are not alone when things are not going our way, as we are not alone when things are going our way. Each situation gives us opportunity to pay attention to God’s presence and call for God’s help. ~From A Guide to Prayer For All Who Seek God, Rueben P. Job

Almighty God, in Whom I find life, health, and strength, and through Whose mercy  I am clothed and fed, grant unto me a thankful and faithful heart. In the name and spirit of Christ. Amen.

Set free by the Spirit

08 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. People whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the Spirit. The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. People who are self- centered aren’t able to please God.

But you aren’t self- centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you. ~Romans 8:1-11 (CEB)

“Condemnation is a heavy burden to bear. No matter the source of the condemnation and no matter the reason, condemnation crushes the life out of us all when given the opportunity. Many of us live our lives condemned because we have been unable or unwilling to permit that burden to be removed. Sometimes the condemnation is self-imposed, and we just cannot forgive ourselves for what seems to be, in our own estimation, some great failure. Sometimes the condemnation comes from outside ourselves for failures in the eyes of others. Whether these failures are relatively insignificant or enormous, the burden of condemnation is hard to bear. Therefore the words of Jesus- “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way and from now on do not sin again.’ (John 8:11)- are music to our ears. To know that we do not need to carry the failures of the past into the future is good news indeed. Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save the world (John 3:17). The good news for all of us declares that the chains binding us to past failures can be broken; we can be set free to live all our tomorrows without condemnation.

Stop and think for a moment about all those memories that keep invading your consciousness to convince you that you are condemned. And then remember these words of the New Testament; “Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34). There is no condemnation for those who walk with Christ.

Today offer all the condemnations of the past and present- silly and substantial- to God in Christ Jesus and hear the words of Jesus addressed to you: “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” And now give thanks to God that you are free of the burden of condemnation.” ~A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Rueben P. Job

Heavenly Father, thank You that I do not have to walk this earth condemned. Thank You that I may leave my failures and shortcomings behind me. Help me to walk this day in the victory You have given me. Help me to hold my head up high with the assuredness that I am a Beloved Child of God, made whole by the sacrifice Jesus made for me. I am no longer chained to who I was before. I am free to live out all my tomorrows without condemnation. Amen.

Clinging to Truths

02 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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Many people were coming and going, so there was no time to eat. He said to the apostles, “Come by yourselves to a secluded place and rest for a while.” They departed in a boat by themselves for a deserted place. ~Mark 6:31-32 (CEB)

When we enter into solitude to be with God alone, we quickly discover how dependent we are.  Without the many distractions of our daily lives, we feel anxious and tense.  When nobody speaks to us, calls on us, or needs our help, we start feeling like nobodies.  Then we begin wondering whether we are useful, valuable, and significant.  Our tendency is to leave this fearful solitude quickly and get busy again to reassure ourselves that we are “somebodies.”  But that is a temptation, because what makes us somebodies is not other people’s responses to us but God’s eternal love for us.

To claim the truth of ourselves we have to cling to our God in solitude as to the One who makes us who we are. ~ From Bread for the Journey by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Heavenly Father, Help me this day to claim those truths You have for me. Help me to stand strong in the quiet times of life. Help me to feel Your assurance and love surround me. Amen.

To be whole

18 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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After this there was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate in the north city wall is a pool with the Aramaic name Bethsaida. It had five covered porches, and a crowd of people who were sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed sat there. A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty- eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I don’t have anyone who can put me in the water when it is stirred up. When I’m trying to get to it, someone else has gotten in ahead of me.”

Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Immediately the man was well, and he picked up his mat and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

The Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It’s the Sabbath; you aren’t allowed to carry your mat.”

He answered, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk. ‘”

They inquired, “Who is this man who said to you, ‘Pick it up and walk’?” The man who had been cured didn’t know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away from the crowd gathered there.

Later Jesus found him in the temple and said, “See! You have been made well. Don’t sin anymore in case something worse happens to you.” The man went and proclaimed to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the man who had made him well. ~John 5:1-15 (CEB)

“Do you want to get well? is a shocking question. Of course I want to be well! But then on closer reflection I am forced to ask, Do I really want to get well? At times I am so attached to my illness (today we could also say addiction) that I prefer illness to health. Possibly my illness (addiction) keeps me from facing the real problem or my real self. My illness could be the crutch I have used to hide or circumvent deeper spiritual problems.

The question also shocks because it reminds me that I am a participant in my road to health. God may indeed bring miraculous, sudden, or slow healing with or without the benefit of modern medicine. But it appears that God does not bring healing unless I desire to be whole. So once again I am reminded that I am partner with God. I am asked to participate in the healing process. Even in the miraculous healing I am asked to be a full participant.

In the passage where this question is posed Jesus gives instructions to ‘take up your bed and walk.’ The mental desire to be well now shifts to a physical act. I am asked to take some specific actions to open the doors to healing. Do I want to be well? Yes, yes, even if it means taking up my bed and carrying what has been carrying me. I am indeed helpless on my own and I am indeed invincible with God. God does have the ability to make me whole once again. In obedience I will take up my bed and walk on the pathway to wholeness.” ~A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Rueben P. Job

Heavenly Father, open my eyes so that I may see the bonds that keep me from being free. I want to truly walk in Your ways and feel Your healing hand on my life. I desire to be whole. Amen.

Spiritual Dryness

08 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered over, is truly happy! The one the LORD doesn’t consider guilty— in whose spirit there is no dishonesty— that one is truly happy! When I kept quiet, my bones wore out; I was groaning all day long— every day, every night!— because your hand was heavy upon me. My energy was sapped as if in a summer drought. So I admitted my sin to you; I didn’t conceal my guilt. “I’ll confess my sins to the LORD,” is what I said. Then you removed the guilt of my sin. That’s why all the faithful should pray to you during troubled times. ~Psalms 32:1-6a (CEB) 

“Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual life.  We feel no desire to pray, don’t experience God’s presence, get bored with worship services, and even think that everything we ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is little more than a childhood fairy tale.

Then it is important to realize that most of these feelings and thoughts are just feelings and thoughts, and that the Spirit of God dwells beyond our feelings and thoughts.  It is a great grace to be able to experience God’s presence in our feelings and thoughts, but when we don’t, it does not mean that God is absent.  It often means that God is calling us to a greater faithfulness.  It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God.” ~From Bread for the Journey by Henri Nouwen

It is good to know Almighty Father, that despite my feelings and thoughts, Your Presence is still with me. The way I feel is not a true reflections of reality. I is good to remember this day that my spiritual disciplines will bring me through the terrible dry spells when they come. Despite my feelings… I am still a beloved child of God. Amen.

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