Ulitmate purpose

06 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

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

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees confronted them. They were incensed that the apostles were teaching the people and announcing that the resurrection of the dead was happening because of Jesus. They seized Peter and John and put them in prison until the next day. (It was already evening.) Many who heard the word became believers, and their number grew to about five thousand.

The next day the leaders, elders, and legal experts gathered in Jerusalem, along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others from the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and asked, “By what power or in what name did you do this?”

Then Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, answered, “Leaders of the people and elders, are we being examined today because something good was done for a sick person, a good deed that healed him? If so, then you and all the people of Israel need to know that this man stands healthy before you because of the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is the stone you builders rejected; he has become the cornerstone! Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.” ~Acts 4:1-12 (CEB)

“When we are hungry to experience God’s loving presence near us and believe we are searching for God, it is important to ask ourselves whether we are truly seeking God or pursuing spiritual experience. We do get lonesome for God and can feel isolated and confused. But sometimes our search is not as much for God as it is for Spiritual adventure. Perhaps we are bored. We might like to see ourselves as important spiritual persons and think a particular kind of spiritual experience is one of the criteria necessary for others to view us in this way. Perhaps we would like God to heal someone through our prayer or bring about instantaneous, major life changes in us or in someone else with whom we have been praying more as a kind of witness to our supposed godliness than as an overflowing of God’s compassion.” ~From Holy Invitations by Jeannette A. Bakke

Lord God, creator and redeemer, claim my life and my work for Your high and holy purpose. Help me to remain faithful and steadfast all day long, and when evening comes grant a peaceful rest in Your presence. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

A driving passion

02 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams. Even upon my servants, men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon will be changed into blood, before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.~ Act 2:14-21 (CEB)

“We have seen it in athletes and politicians and now and then in religious leaders such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Billy Graham, and Dorothy Day. A driving passion is a joy to behold when it is given to a noble and righteous cause. It is unlikely that a noble or righteous cause will succeed without the driving passion of those who share the ideals of the mission.

However, it is not only the well-known athletes, politicians, religious leaders, and celebrities who need or demonstrate a driving passion. We can thank God that every day countless men and women give themselves fully to bringing a vision of the world inspired by Jesus Christ to reality. These men and women place God at the center of their lives and place God’s will at the top of their priority list. Most often these heroic servants of Christ are not recognized and are invisible behind the scenes doing what they do best- loving God and neighbor with a pure love expressed in their actions every day of their lives.

A driving passion can be destructive to the person driven and to those in the way of that passion unless it is grounded in Jesus Christ. We can each fall prey and victim to a driving passion for the wrong purpose or goal. Our only safety net is a life given completely and without reservation to God in Christ. When we can say that it is indeed Christ who lives and rules within us, we can be free to worry about the results of our driving passion. That passion will be directed, as was the passion of Jesus, only for good and noble ends. What is the driving passion of your life? Where will it lead you if you follow it for the rest of your life?” ~ From A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, Rueben P. Job

Lord God, creator and redeemer, claim my life and passion for you high and holy purpose. Help me to remain faithful and steadfast all day long, and when evening comes grant a peaceful rest in your presence. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Trinity

29 May 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

The time came for the Festival of Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple, walking in the covered porch named for Solomon. The Jewish opposition circled around him and asked, “How long will you test our patience? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I have told you, but you don’t believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you don’t believe because you don’t belong to my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life. They will never die, and no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them from my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” ~John 10:22-30 (CEB)

“The advantage of believing in the reality of the Trinity is not that we get an ‘A’ from God for giving, ‘the right answer.’ Remember, to believe something is to act as if it is so. To believe that two plus two equals four is to behave accordingly when trying to find out how many dollars or apples are in the house. The advantage of believing it is not that we can pass tests in arithmetic; it is that we can deal much more successfully with reality. Just try dealing with it as if two plus two equaled six.

Hence, the advantage of believing in the Trinity is that we then live as if the Trinity is real: as if the cosmos environing us actually is, beyond all else, a self-sufficing community of unspeakably magnificent power. And, thus believing, our lives naturally integrate themselves, through our actions, into the reality of such a universe, just as with two plus two equals four. In faith we rest ourselves upon the reality of the Trinity in action- and it graciously meets us. For it is there. And our lives are then enmeshed in the true world of God.” ~from The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

Almighty God, you have made Yourself known to me as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Make yourself known to me in such a way that I may understand Your will and purpose for my life today. I offer my prayers in the name and spirit of Christ. Amen.

A great adventure

22 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” ~Matt. 28:16-20 (CEB)

“Many priests today are said to be abandoning prayer. One simple reason for this is that they have never experienced the power that prayer brings. Those who have once experienced that prayer is power will never again abandon prayer for the rest of their lives. Mahatma Gandhi put it well: ‘I am telling you my own experience,’ he said, ‘and that of my colleagues; we could go for days on end without food; we could not live a single minute without prayer.’ Or, as he said another time, ‘Given the type of life I am leading, if I ceased to pray I should go mad!’ If we ask God for so little it may well be because we feel the need for him so little. We are leading complacent, secure, well protected mediocre lives. We aren’t living dangerously enough; we aren’t living the way Jesus wanted us to live when he proclaimed the good news. The less we pray the less we are likely to life the risky, challenging life that the Gospels urge us to; the less of a challenge there is in our life, and the less we are likely to pray.” ~From Contact with God by Anthony de Mello

Sometimes I wonder… what if Jesus really meant what he said. If so than I am not living dangerously enough. There are no risks that I take no challenges that I have taken up for the good news. It would be easy to put Jesus in the box of “another good teacher”. That would be a safe place to put him. That would be the easy path to take.

Lead me on a wild adventure O Lord. May I never ask so little from You that I cease to live. Help me to see in this day how I can really live for You. Amen.

Shook up

20 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

After they prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking God’s word with confidence. ~Acts 4:31 (CEB)

“In all your experience of Christ, it is wisest for you to stay away from any set form, or pattern, or way. Instead, be wholly given up to the leading of the Holy Spirit. By following your spirit, every encounter you have with the Lord is one that is perfect. . .  no matter what the encounter is like.” ~From Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon

I get so locked into a schedule that I set for myself. How often have I missed out on God’s leading because I was focused on what I thought I should be doing?

Heavenly Father, help me this day to be led more by the Holy Spirit. Guide me in the direction that You would have me take for this day. Amen.

Awareness

18 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. ~Isa. 25:9 (NRSV)

“God is the one who teaches to listen and pray. We must pray for the gift and pray for the gift to be taught. They say that mature writers have ‘found their voice.’ I think we need to ‘find our ear’ –our best way of recognizing God’s voice, knowing that, once we have found our ear, God may decide to speak in a different language.

Some people simply cannot listen to God in scripture. Some find God most readily in music or in the outdoors. Contemplation in the Jesuit understanding is paying attention to the reality of God. Whether God be in scripture, music, the other person, or in nature. Whenever we get beyond our own small preoccupations, whenever we have some degree of self-transcendence, whenever we are aware of the reality of God, contemplation has begun. If you are absolutely unable to find God in your Bible, go outside, listen to music, do whatever you do that puts you in touch with Something More.” ~From Spiritual Awakening by John Ackerman

You have started my heart to beating, given me eyes to see, set my feet in motion… Help me to love You more dearly, see you more clearly follow You more nearly this day, O Lord. Amen.

To simplify

16 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

 

But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. (Mic 7:7 (NRSV)

My heart longs for a simpler life, to be more available more able to listen and to learn more about God’s truths. I wonder how life can get so busy and complicated. Elizabeth Canham in the book Heart Whispers says that this is the challenge we face in today’s world. Our challenge is to find ways to let go of our dependence on things, expectations and status. We must intentionally make space for God’s word…

“Benedict chose to simplify his life in order to be more available to God, to listen and to learn the way of Truth. Others with a similar yearning soon joined him, and guidelines for their life together became necessary; hence the Rule, for simplicity is not easy. There is risk involved in refusing to live by cultural norms, as well as struggle in trusting God for daily needs. Most of us will not be called to monastic life; our challenge is to find ways to let go intentionally of our dependence on things, status, and expectations. Only then can we make space for God’s word.” ~From Heart Whispers by Elizabeth J. Canham

Almighty God, it is the cry of my heart to be close to You, to know more fully of Your truths. Help me to simplify my life. Help me to remove any dependence on things, status and any expectations I might have. May there be space to know Your word for my life. Amen.

Willingness

14 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

LORD , you have examined me. You know me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans. You study my traveling and resting. You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways. There isn’t a word on my tongue, LORD, that you don’t already know completely. ~Psalm 139:1-4 (CEB)

“Willingness is the opposite of willfulness, being full of our own will and ways and the satisfaction in being self-made or self-controlled persons. Willingness to be aware and willingness in general are prerequisites for spiritual direction. Willingness is a chose position of vulnerability that recognizes we are ordinary being in need of God’s love, companionship, and guidance. It includes our acknowledgement that we are not all we would like to be or all that God hopes for us and points toward our desire to hear and follow the Spirit’s invitations even when it means giving up our ways in favor of what we perceive as God’s ways.

When we are even a little bit honest, we recognize that our measure of willingness varies depending on what is being asked of us and by whom. Some of God’s opportunities seem to offer pleasurable outcomes. Surrender to these requests is easy. But there are times when the Spirit invites or simply takes us into unfamiliar territory either inwardly or outwardly. Then we may feel decidedly uneasy about following. God’s love and intentions are larger and farther reaching than we realized. They extend beyond the kind of people we are used to and the kinds of problems, possibilities and joys that are familiar to us.” ~From Holy Invitations by Jeanette A. Bakke

Heavenly Father, it is my wish that You find me this day not in willful disobedience but with a willing heart to do Your will. Search my heart. May You find it free of “self”. Help me be more vulnerable for Your love, companionship and guidance this day. My desire is to follow Your invitation where ever it may lead me. Amen.

To steal away…

13 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

You call me Teacher and Lord- and you are right, for that is what I am… For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you… If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. ~John 13:13, 15, 17 (NRSV)

I am thankful that when I need to know what the Lord requires of me, I can turn to the examples of those who have gone before me. Anthony de Mello in his book Contact with God reminds us that we need to regularly get away like Jesus and his apostles so that we may function better in this world for God.

“Here, then, is another reason why apostles withdraw to make a retreat: they need to be charged with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to those who watch and pray and wait patiently, those who have the courage to get away from everything and come to grips with themselves and with God in solitude and silence. No wonder every one of the great prophets, indeed Jesus himself, retired to the desert for prolonged periods of silence, praying, fasting, wrestling with the forces of evil. The desert is the furnace where the apostle and the prophet are forged. The desert, not the marketplace. The marketplace is where apostles function. The desert is where they are formed and seasoned and receive their commission and their message for the world, ‘their’ gospel.”

Lord I find my soul dry today. Help me to steal away to a quiet place so that I may fill myself up with Your love and then pour it out on Your children. Amen.

Ordinary sacredness

11 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

What do workers gain from all their hard work? I have observed the task that God has given human beings. God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end.

I know that there’s nothing better for them but to enjoy themselves and do what’s good while they live. Moreover, this is the gift of God: that all people should eat, drink, and enjoy the results of their hard work. ~Eccl. 3:9-13

It is easy to overlook everyday life and everyday experiences and think that there is nothing special to them. They are just ordinary. But even in the ordinariness of life I can find sacred moments. Letting a dog out for a friend, “refueling” my son with a hug, coffee with a friend or a walk with my husband can all be sacred moments. Joan Puls in her book, Every Bush is Burning recognizes these moments in her life too.

“I feel an urgency at this stage of my life to name the human expressions and vivid manifestations of our life in the Spirit. I believe that nothing human is foreign to the Spirit, that the Spirit embraces all. Our mundane experiences contain all the stuff of holiness and of human growth in grace. Our world is rife with messages and signatures of the Spirit. Our encounters with one another are potential sites of the awakening and energizing that characterize the Spirit. But the light that shines through the tiny chinks and the dusty panes of our daily lives. We are too busy to name the event that is blessed in its ordinariness, holy in its uniqueness, and grace-filled in its underlying challenge.”

Heavenly Father, help me to see the sacredness of everyday life. Help me to see the simple encounters with others as moments with you. May I not be too busy to see the blessings You send my way today. Amen.

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