Present reality

23 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

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

God is our refuge and strength,

a help always near in times of great trouble.

That’s why we won’t be afraid when the world falls apart,

when the mountains crumble into the center of the sea,

when its waters roar and rage,

when the mountains shake because of its surging waves. ~Psalm 46:1-3 (CEB)

“But God is present in reality no matter what unreality our practices and our ponderings imply. He is forever trying to establish communication; forever aware of the wrong directions we are taking and wishing to warn us; forever offering solutions for the problems that baffle us; forever standing at the door of our loneliness, eager to bring us such comradeship as the most intelligent living mortal could not supply; forever clinging to our indifference in the hope that someday our needs, or at least our tragedies will waken us to respond to his advances. The Real Presence is just that, real and life-transforming. Nor are the conditions for the manifestation of his splendors out of the reach of any of us! Here they are; otherness, openness, obedience, obsession.” ~From The Captivating Presence by Albert Edward Day.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for your sustaining presence. Help me to feel your presence this day as I take up the tasks laid before me. May I continually turn to You for strength and not forget Your love. Amen.

In the end

04 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the order of things has passed away. ~Rev. 21:4

“Christmas is the promise that the God who came in history and comes daily in mystery will one day come in glory. God is saying in Jesus that in the end everything will be all right. Nothing can harm you permanently, no suffering is irrevocable, no loss is lasting, no defeat is more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Jesus did not deny the reality of suffering, discouragement, disappointment, frustration, and death; he simply stated that the Kingdom of God would conquer all of these horrors, that the Father’s love is so prodigal that no evil could possibly resist it.” ~From Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning

Heavenly Father, You gave us the greatest gift of all, not wrapped in shinny paper and ribbons, but in flesh and blood. Thank You for sending Your love into the world to show us the way. Amen.

Preposterous Promise

01 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, happened just as it was written about in the prophecy of Isaiah:

Look, I am sending my messenger before you.

He will prepare your way,

a voice shouting in the wilderness:

” Prepare the way for the Lord;

make his paths straight.”

John’s preaching

John was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins. John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ~Mark 1:1-8 (CEB)

“’If it sounds too good to be true, it is.’” We have all heard this with the warning about scam artists that are waiting to take our money and our property. And it is true that there are those who prey on the naïve, the trusting, and the innocent. Most of us can remember hearing about that seductive bargain that turned out to be a disaster. We have seen it happen and have promised ourselves it will never happen to us.

Because we see such deception in our world, it is not unusual that we guard ourselves against the truth of the gospel story. We are afraid that it is indeed too good to be true. What if we believed and then found out it was only myth and hype? Better to keep our distance. We listen to the gospel story, let it creep into the edges of our lives, but never can bring ourselves to embrace it fully. What if it is just another cheap commercial trick that has nothing to do with our need or destiny and everything to do with the storyteller’s need and fortune? Since it is better to be wise than to be a fool, we stand near the edge of the Advent story and keep all of our options open.

So often I stand on the edge of the light, afraid to believe, afraid to act, afraid that this story is too good to be true. But then in my better moments, when I listen closely to the story, move closer to the light, my fears seem to evaporate like an early morning mist, and I can believe again. I can believe that God who made all that is became clothed in our human flesh so that we might become clothed in God. I can believe that God claims me as a beloved child. I can believe that all my days are in God’s strong and tender hands. I can believe that life is good, beautiful, and eternal. I can believe that not only my days but all days are in God’s good and able hands. I can believe, rejoice, and wait trustingly and expectantly for the unfolding of God’s promise given so many ways and most clearly in the Advent story. Thanks be to God!

We are not unlike Zechariah in the presence of God’s messengers. Our questions are like his. How can this be? The angel speaks to us as to him, ‘Do not be afraid . . . for your prayer has been heard’ (Luke 1:13). God gives the promise and God keeps the promise. So even though it does sound too good to be true, it is true! Thanks be to God it is true! Two thousand years of Christian experience and testimony declare that the preposterous promise is try. Today believe that your prayer is heard and the light and presence of God will lead you through all your days.” ~Rueben P. Job

Almighty God, who came to us long ago in the birth of Jesus Christ, be born in us anew today by the power of your Holy Spirit. We offer our lives as home to you and ask for grace and strength to live as your faithful, joyful children always. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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

From doubt to belief

03 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

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

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ~John 20:21-18 (CEB)

“We move away from doubt at our own pace and with our own set of doubts and beliefs to master. While our first step is a matter of belief and ultimate trust in God, there are many other and some even more difficult steps to take in out movement from doubt to belief.

One step along this journey that causes many people to stop and struggle is the step of actually believing God loves them and that they can be lovable in God’s sight. This more than any other step along the journey makes men and women, young and old, stumble and fall from faith to doubt. Why is it so hard for us to believe that God’s love really is unconditional and that we should imitate God’s love not only for others but also for ourselves?

Perhaps we have regarded self-centered behavior too harshly. We are unwilling or unable to give ourselves the same gentle grace that God offers us and that doubt to belief and remember that God loves you, in God and in God’s creation. ~Rueben P. Job, A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God

Almighty God, send your transforming power into my life as I seek to serve you this day. Grant unto me wisdom, courage, grace, and strength to faithfully fulfill ministry to which you have called me. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Ponder and meditation

22 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy.

 What god is great like our God?

You are the God who works wonders;

you have made known your might among the peoples.

You with your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. ~Psalm 77:12-15 (CEB)

“You will think, Sisters, that since so much has been said about this spiritual path it will be impossible for anything more to be said. Such a thought would be very foolish. Since the greatness of God is without limits, [God’s] works are too. Who will finish telling of [God’s] mercies and grandeurs? To do so is impossible, and thus not be surprised at what was said, and will be said, because it is but a naught in comparison to what there is to tell of God. [God] grants us a great favor in having communicated these things to a person through whom we can know about [God]. Thus the more we know about [God’s] communication to creatures the more we will praise [God’s] grandeur and make the effort to have esteem for souls in which the Lord delights so much. Each of us has a soul, but since we do not prize souls as is deserved by creatures made in the image of God we do not understand the deep secrets that lie in them.” ~From The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila

Almighty God, Help me ponder this day all the work You have done in my life. Help me to remember the mighty deeds You have performed. Thank You for the grace and mercy You have shown me. 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.

In this moment

14 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

“Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matt. 6:25-34 (CEB)

“As we grow older, we tend to become  control freaks. We need to control everybody and everything, moment by moment, to be happy. If the now has never been full or sufficient, we will always be grasping, even addictive or obsessive. If you’re pushing yourself and others around, you have not yet found the secret of happiness. It’s okay as it is. This moment is as perfect as it can be. The saints called it the ‘sacrament of the present moment.'”~From Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Heavenly Father, Help me to live in this moment. Help me not to be in a rush for tomorrow to come or blinded by my past regrets. Help me to see the beauty and joy that You have sent my way for this day. Amen.

Quiet my thoughts

20 Sep 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. ~Jer. 29:11 (CEB)

“Dear Jesus, during this day help me quiet all the thoughts that fill my head- where I must go, whom I must see, and what I must do. In their place, give me a sense of your order, your peace, and your time.

Help me to understand that you are in control, and I can trust you with my day. Help me to realize that nothing on my to-do list is important if it is not what you want me to do.

I give all my tasks to you and trust you to bring order to them. In these moments, dear Jesus, come to me, be with me, and free me from the tyranny of ‘to do.’” Amen. ~From Quiet Spaces by Patricia F. Wilson

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.

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