Compasssion as my guide

25 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” ~John 13:34-35 (CEB)

“For a Christian, an economic system is a means to an end- a mechanism for exchanging goods and services. . . . nothing more. We steer our lives by a higher value- the love ethic of Jesus. Central to our bearing the cross is our acceptance of Jesus’ love and our attentiveness to the needs of others. Love, not mammon, must be our guiding light.

Each of us can choose to change out of aspiration rather than desperation. We have the choice to live our faith. But living our faith will require ‘righteousness,’ that is, a genuine relationship with God. Compassion will be our guiding light, our rule I life. Justice will lead us to faithful stewardship- to care for and work on behalf of others in the global community. Shalom will be our reward.” ~From Climbing the Sycamore Tree by Ann Hagmann

Heavenly Father, may I be known this day by the love I show. May I aspire to be more like Jesus in my words and actions. May they be a testament of Your work in my life.

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.

Finding the time

17 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Phil. 4:13

“How often people today cry out in exasperation or despair, ‘I just don’t have enough time!’ There is so much to do: earn a living, fulfill a vocation, nurture relationships, car for dependents, exercise, clean the house. Moreover, we hope to maintain sanity while doing all this, and to keep growing faithful and loving people at the same time. We are finite, and the demands seem too great, the time too short. . . .

Puritan Sabbath keepers agreed that ‘good Sabbaths make good Christians.’ They meant that regular, disciplined attention to the spiritual life was the foundation of faithfulness. Another dimension of the saying opens up if we imagine a worshiping community helping one another step off the treadmill of work-and-spend and into the circle of glad gratitude for the gifts of God. Taken this way, good Sabbaths make good Christians by regularly reminding us of God’s creative, liberation, and redeeming presence, not only in words but also through a practice we do together in response to that presence. ~From “Keeping Sabbath” by Dorothy C. Bass in Practicing Our Faith

Help me this day O Lord, to be faithful to You in all I do. Help me to step off the treadmill of life so that I may be grateful for the gifts You have placed in my life. Amen.

Dark night

15 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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

My God! My God,

why have you left me all alone?

Why are you so far from saving me—

so far from my anguished groans?

My God, I cry out during the day,

but you don’t answer;

even at nighttime I don’t stop.

~Psalm 22:1-2 (CEB)

“We may say that there are three reasons for which this journey mad by the soul to union with God is called night. The first has to do with the point from which the soul goes forth, for it has gradually to deprive itself of desire for all the worldly tings which it possessed by denying them to itself; the which denial and deprivation are, as it were, night to all the senses of man. The second reason has to do with the mean, or the road along which the soul must travel to this union- that is, faith, which is likewise as dark as night to understanding. The third has to do with the point to which it travels- namely, God, Who, equally, is dark night to the soul in this life. These three nights must pass through the soul- or, rather, the soul must pass through them- in order that it may come to Divine union with God.” ~From Ascent of Mount Carmel by Saint John of the Cross

Heavenly Father, when I find myself adrift and alone, guide me back into Your light. May all my travels find me closer to Divine union with You. 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.

The comfort of tears

09 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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

When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. He asked, “Where have you laid him?”

They replied, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus began to cry. ~John 11:33-35 (CEB)

 

“We took him too much for granted. Perhaps we all take each other too much for granted. The routines of life distract us; our own pursuits make us oblivious; our anxieties and sorrows, unmindful. The beauties of the familiar go unremarked. We do not treasure each other enough.

[Eric] was a gift to us for twenty-five years. When the gift was finally snatched away, I realized how great it was. Then I could not tell him. An outpouring of letters arrived, many expressing appreciation for Eric. They all made me weep again: each word of praise a stab of loss.

How can I be thankful, in his gone-ness for what he was? I find I am. But the pain of the no more outweighs the gratitude of the once was. Will it always be so?

I didn’t know how much I loved him until he was gone.

Is love like that?” ~from Lament for a Son by Nicolas Wolterstorff

There are times O Lord that the most comfort You can give me is to know that You weep when I am sad. Thank You.

Mercy, not sacrafice

24 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

Go and learn what this means: I want mercy and not sacrifice. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners. ~Matt 9:13

 

“Following the way of forgiveness prepares us to go one step further. Something more is asked of us by Jesus: ‘Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I didn’t come to call the righteous, but the sinner.’

This ‘something more’ is compassion. Once we grasp the depth of God’s merciful love for us, he wants us to express that same compassion for others. This is the balm that softens the scars of sinfulness and suffering. As we show mercy to others, so they will extend the blessing to us in turn.

Ask yourself some revealing questions: Do I sense the presence of the suffering Christ in others? Do I share their pain? Am I aware of their vulnerability? Do I know that the need for mercy is often hidden under a mask of self-sufficiency, coldness, and indifference?” ~From Divine Guidance by Susan Muto and Adrian Van Kamm

Heavenly Father, help me to understand Your ways of mercy. Help me to sense the presence of the suffering Christ in others. Help me to share their pain. Let me see past the masks of self-sufficiency, coldness and indifference to the vulnerability inside. Amen.

Intense love

23 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

Some people said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast often and pray frequently. The disciples of the Pharisees do the same, but your disciples are always eating and drinking.”

Jesus replied, ” You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? The days will come when the groom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.”

Then he told them a parable. “No one tears a patch from a new garment to patch an old garment. Otherwise, the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t match the old garment. Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the new wine would burst the wineskins, the wine would spill, and the wineskins would be ruined. Instead, new wine must be put into new wineskins.  No one who drinks a well- aged wine wants new wine, but says, ‘The well- aged wine is better. ‘” ~Luke 5:33-39 (CEB)

“To go where healing love is needed, and give it in a way in which it can be received, often means acting in the teeth of our own interests and preferences, even religious interests and preferences. Christ risked his reputation for holiness by healing on the Sabbath; he touched the unclean and dined with the wrong people; he accepted the love and companionship of a sinner (that most wonderful of all remedies for the wounds of sin). He loved with God’s love and so went straight to the point: What can I do to restore my fellow creature and how?” ~From The Light of Christ by Evelyn Underhill

Help me this day O Lord to see with Your eyes and to hear with Your ears so that I may love Your children as You would love them. Let me not be afraid this day to reach out to the sick and hurting. May I not be so busy with my own interests and opinions for others to see You in me. Amen.

Solitude

17 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer. ~Mark 1:35 (CEB)

“Solitude is obviously intended to be far more than just being physically alone. It is the way we form a habit of retreat, creating a space and a time when God can speak to us. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have some place in your house that could become a place of retreat. Some people have a favorite walk that becomes a ‘prayer walk.’ Every large city, despite the noise and crowds, has places of great solitude and peace. Often city center churches are examples of this. What is certain is that if we create a place where we can regularly turn to God, [God] will meet us there. There, as Amma Syncletica said, ‘it is possible to be a solitary in one’s mind while living in a crowd.’ Time spent with God in solitude will always bring a harvest. The problems we have outside the solitude will seem different when we return to them refreshed and strengthened. The surer sense of our relationship with Christ that solitude brings spills over into everything else we do. When Moses came down from his solitude on Mount Sinai, his face shone (Exod. 34:29-35). For you, too, solitude can be a place of transfiguration, a meeting place with the living God.” ~From The Interior Mountain by Simon Peter Iredale

Come away with me O Lord, to a quiet place where I may hear your voice as it whispers to me. May the solitude I seek in this moment give me the strength needed for this day. May my face shine from being in Your Presence. Help me remember throughout the rest of this day to stop and listen for Your voice so that I may know more clearly the way to go. Amen.

Set free

11 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

Make your ways known to me, LORD;

teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—

because you are the God who saves me.

I put my hope in you all day long. ~Psalm 25:4-5 (CEB)

“That which is unforgiven holds us captive. We are imprisoned by the hatred and malice we clutch in our hearts. I do not mean to suggest that forgiveness is easy or even that it is a swift process. No. When wrongs have been committed the last thing one wants, or even should do is claim that the transgression should be overlooked The aftermath of betrayal or injury is unavoidably rage, hate, self-blame, flight, and fight. It is a long and painful process to move through the stages of healing that must be named and claimed as part of you, the pain allowed to work for you, the injurer must rightly be blamed, and power and strength returned to the injured. The, knowing you have experienced pain and overcome it, forgiveness can some as a free act.” ~From The Time Bewteen by Wendy M. Wright

Set me free this day O Lord, from the pain and fears I carry around with me. Help me to gain the strength I need to place blame where it belongs, claiming only my part. Help me to face what needs to be faced so that I may go about my day with a lighter spirit. Amen.

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries