To see God’s dwelling place

04 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)

How can we embrace poverty as a way to God when everyone around us wants to become rich?   Poverty has many forms.  We have to ask ourselves:  “What is my poverty?”  Is it lack of money, lack of emotional stability, lack of a loving partner, lack of security, lack of safety, lack of self-confidence?  Each human being has a place of poverty.  That’s the place where God wants to dwell!  “How blessed are the poor,” Jesus says (Matthew 5:3).  This means that our blessing is hidden in our poverty.

We are so inclined to cover up our poverty and ignore it that we often miss the opportunity to discover God, who dwells in it.   Let’s dare to see our poverty as the land where our treasure is hidden. ~From Bread for the Journey, by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Help me to see where You dwell in my life this day O Lord. If I cannot find You this day, help me to see what is blocking my sight. Help me to look to You for my security, my safety and my self-confidence. Amen.

Focus

03 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

 

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,

and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint. ~Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)

How can we stay in solitude when we feel that deep urge to be distracted by people and events?   The simplest way is to focus our minds and hearts on a word or picture that reminds us of God.  By repeating quietly:  “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want,” or by gazing lovingly at an icon of Jesus, we can bring our restless minds to some rest and experience a gentle divine presence.

This doesn’t happen overnight.  It asks a faithful practice.  But when we spend a few moments every day just being with God, our endless distractions will gradually disappear. ~From Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Heavenly Father, help me this day to focus on Your will for my life. Guide me and direct me in the way I should go so that I may not tire or grow weary. Amen.

Clinging to Truths

02 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

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.

Solitude

31 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

But now set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language. Don’t lie to each other. Take off the old human nature with its practices and put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people. ~Col. 3:8-11 (CEB)

If indeed the spiritual life is essentially a hidden life, how do we protect this hiddenness in the midst of a very public life?   The two most important ways to protect our hiddenness are solitude and poverty.  Solitude allows us to be alone with God.  There we experience that we belong not to people, not even to those who love us and care for us, but to God and God alone.  Poverty is where we experience our own and other people’s weakness, limitations, and need for support.  To be poor is to be without success, without fame, and without power.  But there God chooses to show us God’s love.

Both solitude and poverty protect the hiddenness of our lives. ~ From Bread for the Journey by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Heavenly Father, in this quiet space I look to You for guidance. Center me so that when I go out into the world I may still feel Your presence and remember the work I am to be about. Guide my feet to go where You would lead, steady my hands to do Your work. Amen.

Renewal

28 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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I baptize with water those of you who have changed your hearts and lives. The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.” ~Matt. 3:11-12 (CEB)

“If our problem is really sin- a fundamental breach in human existence- then repentance, not self- improvement, is the first requirement. This is the biblical view of the foundations of morality. The prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul all beckoned their hearers to a new life by calling them first to give up the old in repentance (Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 26:20; Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor. 7:9-10). Repentance is the absolutely inescapable first step of the Christian moral life. Without repentance, the Christian moral life is impossible.” ~From Vision and Character by Craig R. Dykstra

Create in me a clean heart O Lord, and renew a right spirit in me. Show me the areas that need work and repentance. Continue to call to my heart so that I may reach perfection and my eternal home.  Amen.

Made to follow

25 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” ~Mark 1:14-15 (CEB)

Whenever we see a person whose life is exemplary in every way, we are drawn to live like that. When we see clarity and purity of motive, generous attitude, unobtrusive service, righteous acts, and righteous motives, we want to turn our lives in that direction. It is easy to understand the obedient response of those who heard Jesus call the disciples, crowds, and sinners in general to repent and believe. Here was purity and righteousness beyond compare calling all to repent, or to turn their lives in the direction that his life modeled so well.

The good news is that we can live those exemplary lives. We can repent- turn our lives toward God. We can turn away from everything that keeps us from God and from living within God’s reign. You and I can repent and believe. But it is not always easy. To repent, or to turn our lives in another direction, requires our will, our effort, and our faith as we call on God to supply the strength to turn toward God in all aspects of our living. And to believe in the unseen Companion who calls us to goodness and fills us with goodness is difficult when all those visible companions tend to discount the divine companionship promised to all who believe.

What will it mean for you to repent and believe? Only you can fill in the details. But Jesus promises the power and presence to enable you to live the good life, a life in harmony with God. ~A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Rueben P. Job

Almighty God, as you have sent Jesus to be for us light and truth, send now Your Spirit upon us to grant us grace and strength to follow in his footsteps this day Amen.

Logging

24 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. You’ll receive the same judgment you give. Whatever you deal out will be dealt out to you. Why do you see the splinter that’s in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye? How can you say to your brother or sister, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ when there’s a log in your eye? You deceive yourself! First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye. Don’t give holy things to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls in front of pigs. They will stomp on the pearls, then turn around and attack you. ~Matthew 7:1-6 (CEB)

“We have to train ourselves to recognize how we’re giving an ‘affective charge’ to an offense, how we are getting energy from mulling over someone else’s mistakes. We can build a case with no effect at all. We wrap and embellish and by the time our twenty minutes of ‘prayer’ are over, we have a complete case. The verdict is in: the other person is guilty. And wrong besides. And because the other is wrong, we are right. ‘Scapegoating’ is when we displace the issue and project it over there instead of owning here, too. Only the contemplative mind can recognize its own complicity and participation in this great mystery of evil. The contemplative mind holds the tension and refuses to ease itself by projection evil elsewhere.” ~From Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Open my eyes O Lord to see the truth. Help me to see what work needs to be done in my own life. Help me to remove the log that is keeping me blind. Amen.

Unconditional witness

23 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. ~1John 4:7-10 (CEB)

“Good news becomes bad news when it is announced without peace and joy.  Anyone who proclaims the forgiving and healing love of Jesus with a bitter heart is a false witness.  Jesus is the savior of the world.  We are not.  We are called to witness, always with our lives and sometimes with our words, to the great things God has done for us.  But this witness must come from a heart that is willing to give without getting anything in return.

The more we trust in God’s unconditional love for us, the more able we will be to proclaim the love of Jesus without any inner or outer conditions.” ~From Bread for the Journey by Henri J.M. Nouwen

. Help me today O Lord to love as You would love. May I be a living witness of that love to every person that I meet. Help me to trust that Your love for me is unconditional so that I may better do Your will. Amen

To think or to feel

22 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look! I’m making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “All is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will freely give water from the life- giving spring. ~Rev. 24:4-6 (CEB)

“The choice you face constantly is whether you are taking your hurts to your head or to your heart. In your head you can analyze them, find their causes and consequences, and coin words to speak and write about them. But no final healing is likely to come from that source. You need to let your wounds go down into your heart. Then you can live them through and discover that they will not destroy you. Your heart is greater than your wounds. . . .

Think of each wound as you would of a child who has been hurt by a friend. As long as that child is ranting and raving, trying to get back at the friend, one wound leads to another. But when the child can experience the consoling embrace of a parent, she or he can live through the pain, return to the friend, forgive, and build up a new relationship. Be gentle with yourself, and let your heart be your loving parent as you live your wounds through.” ~From The Inner Voice of Love by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Lord, as I learn to work through life’s struggles, help me to feel Your loving embrace this day. Help me to be healthy and whole. 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.

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