Today

09 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

There’s a season for everything

and a time for every matter under the heavens:

a time for giving birth and a time for dying,

a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,

a time for killing and a time for healing,

a time for tearing down and a time for building up,

a time for crying and a time for laughing,

a time for mourning and a time for dancing,

a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,

a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,

a time for searching and a time for losing,

a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,

a time for tearing and a time for repairing,

a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,

a time for loving and a time for hating,

a time for war and a time for peace.

~Ecc. 3:1-8 (CEB)

In the church calendar we are in the “Ordinary Times”. Easter time is just a memory. Christmas is still just out of reach. Summer is over and the fall schedule has kicked in. Today is just another Monday. What could make it special? But then I get to thinking…

Today God gives you a new opportunity to praise Him. “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Today God provides for you and wants your trust. “Give us day by day our daily bread.” (Luke 11:3)

Today God wants to speak to you through His word. The believers at Berea “searched the Scriptures daily.” (Acts 17:11)

Today God desires to renew your inner person. “The inward man is being renewed day by day.” (2Cor. 4:16)

Today may be an ordinary day but through God’s provisions every day can be special.

Lord, I thank You for providing for my everyday needs. I thank You for renewing me every day. I thank You for Your scriptures that lead me ever closer to You. I thank You for this ordinary day and I will rejoice in all that You have given me. Amen.

To see Christ through our poverty

05 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness ‘sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ~Matthew 5:1-11 (CEB)

When we are not afraid to confess our own poverty, we will be able to be with other people in theirs.  The Christ who lives in our own poverty recognizes the Christ who lives in other people’s.   Just as we are inclined to ignore our own poverty, we are inclined to ignore others’.  We prefer not to see people who are destitute, we do not like to look at people who are deformed or disabled, we avoid talking about people’s pains and sorrows, we stay away from brokenness, helplessness, and neediness.

By this avoidance we might lose touch with the people through whom God is manifested to us.  But when we have discovered God in our own poverty, we will lose our fear of the poor and go to them to meet God. ~From Bread for the Journey, by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Heavenly Father, give me courage this day to speak from my heart the things that need to be said. Where I see poverty help me to speak out of my own experiences so that I may lead others into Your light. May I not leave anyone in darkness today. Amen.

Surrender

29 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

The people who lived in the dark have seen a great light, and a light has come upon those who lived in the region and in shadow of death. From that time Jesus began to announce “Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” ~Matt. 4:16-17 (CEB)

“My beginning advice to you is this: Always read the Scriptures with a heart ready to repent. Receive the storm that repentance brings. Let the holy winds toss you to and fro. You will be awakened to new depths as you wrestle with the life forces within. What seems like violence at first will lead you gently into the eye of God where all is calm and quiet, like the eye of a hurricane. When you finally surrender and stop fighting the winds, you will be carried by angels into the eye of God. These, you will rest in peace and learn to see like God. It will be the great harvest of contemplation- through the storm into the quiet.” ~From A Tree Full of Angels by Macrina Wiederker

You know my heart O Lord. You know what I need to find peace. Help me to move ever closer to Your eternal Light. Help me to keep my eyes on You as You awaken more within me. Amen.

Living out the day

21 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will be present for you, declares the LORD, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the LORD. ~Jer. 29:11-14 (CEB)

“You have been wounded in many ways. The more you open yourself to being healed, the more you will discover how deep your wounds are. You will be tempted to become discouraged, because under every wound you uncover you will find others. Your search for true healing will be a suffering search. Many tears still need to be shed.

But do not be afraid. The simple fact that you are more aware of your wounds shows that you have sufficient strength to face them.

The great challenge is living your wounds through instead of thinking them through. It is better to cry than to worry, better to feel your wounds deeply than to understand them, better to let them enter into your silence than to talk about them. ~From The Inner Voice of Love by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Heavenly Father, help me to live through this day. Clear my mind or worry and fear. Help me to take each step as they come. Steady me, guide me, comfort me O Lord. Amen.

Keeping the peace in our hearts

20 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. ~John 16:33

Whatever we do in the Name of Jesus, we must always keep the peace of Jesus in our hearts.  When Jesus sends his disciples out to preach the Gospel, he says:  “Whatever town or village you go into, seek out someone worthy and stay with him until you leave.  As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, may your peace come upon it; if it does not, may your peace come back to you”  (Matthew 10:11-13).

The great temptation is to let people take our peace away.  This happens whenever we become angry, hostile, bitter, spiteful, manipulative, or vengeful when others do not respond favorably to the good news we bring to them.” ~From Bread for the Journey, by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Grant my heart peace this day O Lord. Help me to see with Your eyes and to Hear with Your ears. Help me to see beyond the present trials to the glory beyond. Amen.

To walk in wholeness and truth

19 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

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)

“Thirty-eight years is a long time to be unwell. After so long, you might get used to being sick, and develop some strong habits to keep yourself infirm. After all, when you are stuck in a closet of ill health- and everyone around you is also used to being unwell- then being sick seems like the thing to do. If you decide to get well, all the other infirm people will complain about it.

This is the way it was for the man described in John 5:1-15. He felt at home in his infirmity, as did all the others who occupied the surrounding porticos. They were all unwell, and they spent all their time waiting but not seeing that their most serious illness was that they were ‘at home’ in their ill health. They would have felt quiet naked had they suddenly found themselves exposed to wellness. And so Jesus had remind this man that there was another alternative: ‘Do you really want to get well?’

The man’s response tells it all, as he reels off a long list of excuse:

I don’t have anyone to put me into the water.

When the angel comes to stir the water, someone gets there ahead of me.

So you see, all I can do is remain unwell for another year.

But I am faithful. I have been waiting for thirty-eight years.

Go ahead! Blame circumstances, blame the angel, blame the other sick people around you for not letting you in first. . . .  Do you realize the waters that need to be stirred are inside you? Just once why don’t you get up and get there first? If you listen carefully at this moment, you may just hear Jesus saying to you in the portico of your heart, ‘Get up! . . .  Pick up your mat and walk!” ~Norman Shawchuck

Heavenly Father, You know my lists and my excuses. Open my eyes this day to see past my perceived stumbling blocks to wellness. Help me to feel Your Presence I seek to get my feet underneath me so that I may walk in Your ways of wholeness and truth. Amen.

To be whole

18 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

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.

Bondage

17 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy- seven times. ~Matt. 18:22 (CEB)

“Community is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another ‘seventy-seven times’. Forgiveness is the cement of community life. Forgiveness holds us together through good times and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love. . . .

To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, ‘I no longer hold your offense against you.’ But there is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the ‘offended one.’ As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. That great temptation is to cling to anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.” ~From Bread for the Journey by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Liberate me Almighty Go, from the chains that bind my heart from loving You more fully. My anger blinds me from see You more fully. Open my eyes that I might see how You would have me live in freedom. Amen.

God of love

16 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

Dear friends, let’s love each other; because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God. Because God is love. This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins.

Dear Friends, if God loved us this way, we also ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God remains in us and his love is made perfect in us. ~1 John 4:8-12 (CEB)

“I believe with all my heart that the mystery of forgiveness is the entire Gospel. When you ‘get’ forgiveness, you get it. We use the phrase ‘falling in love.’ I think forgiveness is almost the same thing. It’s a mystery we fall into: the mystery is God. God forgives all things for being imperfect, broken, and poor. Not only Jesus but all the great people who pray that I have met in my life say the same thing. That’s the conclusion they come to. The people who know God well, the mystics, the hermits, those who risk everything to find God, always meet a lover, not a dictator. God is never found to be an abusive father or a tyrannical mother, but always a lover who is more than we dared hope for. How different than the ‘account manager’ that most people seem to worship.” ~From Everything Belongs, by Richard Rohr

Heavenly Father, I am a poor, imperfect, and broken human being. I thank You for loving me. I thank You for the forgiveness you so freely and abundantly give. I thank You that I am not defined by my past. Help me to know more of Your love each day. Amen.

To the ends of the earth

11 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. After he entered the Pharisee’s home, he took his place at the table. Meanwhile, a woman from the city, a sinner, discovered that Jesus was dining in the Pharisee’s house. She brought perfumed oil in a vase made of alabaster. Standing behind him at his feet and crying, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured the oil on them. When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw what was happening, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. He would know that she is a sinner.

Jesus replied, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

“Teacher, speak,” he said.

“A certain lender had two debtors. One owed enough money to pay five hundred people for a day’s work. The other owed enough money for fifty. When they couldn’t pay, the lender forgave the debts of them both. Which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the largest debt canceled.”

Jesus said, “You have judged correctly.”

Jesus turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your home, you didn’t give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has poured perfumed oil on my feet. This is why I tell you that her many sins have been forgiven; so she has shown great love. The one who is forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other table guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this person that even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50 (CEB)

“There are some things that only God can do. We look at the rise of violence around the globe or the rising tide of population and hunger and know that some of these problems are so deep-seated that without God’s help they will not be resolved. Then we look into our own hearts and know that sin- our failure to do what we want to do and our doing what we know we do not want to do- can only be remedied with God’s help. We are not the first to discover these truths.

When Jesus had dinner at Simon’s house, a woman identified as a known sinner came and washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, drying his feet with her hair. The rest of the dinner crowd was astonished and outraged. Why did this righteous man not recognize who this woman was? And if he did recognize who she was, why did he not rebuke her? Jesus then pointed out that her love was greater and demonstrated love more beautifully than that of the host. Jesus then declared in the hearing of all that the woman was forgiven. She was cleansed and sent on her way with Jesus’ blessing.

The dinner guests were still astounded. They knew that only God could forgive sins, and they were not yet able to believe that this carpenter’s son was also son of God. Jesus said that the woman was saved by her faith, but the rest of the guests missed out on the divine gift of forgiveness and the blessing of peace Jesus was offering.

The good news Christians tell one another and the world is that only God can wipe away the failures, errors, and missed opportunities that sometimes plague us. We cannot wipe away or forgive our sins or those of another. But God can, and therein lies our hope, joy, and peace- a message we proclaim to all.” ~A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Reuben P. Job

Thank you Almighty God for wiping away my failures, mistakes and missed opportunities. Help me to live this day to the fullest. Help me to spread Your good news to others. Amen.

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