Month: July 2018

Walk humbly

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Micah 6:8 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

This is such a wonderful verse and sounds so simple. What could be easier? Actually the question should be what could be harder? Are we always kind? I doubt it. Do we walk humbly? For us this is counter-culture. We need to keep this verse in front of us and read it every morning.

walk humbly

O Lord, our God, you ask so little and yet to us it seems to be too much. Help us to write this verse on our hearts. AMEN

God is everywhere!

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Many Christians say they believe in the Presence in the Eucharist, but they don’t get that it is everywhere—which is the whole point! They don’t seem to know how to recognize the Presence of God when they leave the church, when they meet people who are of a different religion or race or sexual orientation or nationality. ——-Richard Rohr

boundless god

God is everywhere. He is in you and me. He is in the trees and the grass. He is in my beloved dogs. God is everywhere! Why is it so hard for us to get that?

Infinite God, you created all things and are present in them all. Help us to understand. AMEN

Listen

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Why are we the last ones to see what God wants? —————Suzanne Boyd

We go to church. We supposedly read the Bible. We take classes about God. We talk to other Christians but how often do we spend time listening? We have been told that God speaks in silence and yet silence is something most of us don’t like. We watch TV, listen to music, read electronic media but we don’t just sit in silence and wait for God. That is why we are the last to hear God speak.

silence-mind

Patient God, you speak to us again and again and yet we seldom stop to hear. Help us to learn to stop and listen for your voice. AMEN

Changing our worldview

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The Gospel was just too good to be true—for a future oriented, product-oriented, and win lose worldview. ————-Richard Rohr in Falling Upward

It is true. We spend most of our time acquiring “things’, trying to outpace the Jones-es, and win, win, win. This is not the message of the Gospel. No wonder we have trouble with it. Things like  he who wants to gain his life must lose it…you must turn your back on your family and many others. These do not work with our worldview. Unfortunately it is our worldview that is wrong. We must LIVE the Gospel, not just read it.

worldview

Forgiving God, just like the disciples we don’t get it. Help us to learn to live the Gospel. AMEN

Learn and Grow

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anthonyjdangelo1

We must continue to learn and grow each day. We ourselves change each day so if we read a Bible passage tomorrow it may have an insight it didn’t have yesterday. We can never stop growing. God expects us to use the mind he gave us.

 

Gentle God, you have given us ways to learn and grow. Remind us to use them. AMEN

Hope

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Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.–——Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeve spent the last years of his life strapped in a wheelchair and yet he could say this. I have a friend whose doctor’s have said that she would be dead years ago. Her life is not perfect…she is living with physical losses but she continues to live each day. Her Facebook page is filled with family trips, boat rides, ocean photos and the most wonderful paeans (songs of triumph) to God. She is filled with love for God and her life. God is with her. She knows it and she rejoices in it. So should we.

This-Certain-Hope-–-The-Practice-Series-on-Hebrews-6-19

Loving God, we thank you for the gift of your presence and love. Help us to see it each day. AMEN

One stone

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The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. —–Chinese Proverb

The political situation in the USA today is monumental. We truly have a mountain that must be removed and redone. It can be discouraging and we can fall into the mistake of thinking there is nothing we can do. The truth is there is always something. The only way that things will change is with one person, one voice. Each of us must do our part. It may seem small but mountains have been moved before. We need to believe that God will help and move that one stone.

one stone

Incredible God, you know the messes we can get ourselves into. Help us to find your path through it all and do our part. AMEN

Blessings

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We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. —-Abraham Lincoln

blessings

How we see thing is everything. Some say that people see the glass as half full or half empty. I think that we can learn to see it half full. We don’t take time to see the blessings that we have. We are so busy doing things or watching TV or using electronic devices. It is time to look at our blessings.

Generous God, you have gifted us with so many things. Help us to see them and give thanks. AMEN

Homework: for the next week write down at least five blessings you have.

Kindness matters

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No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. ———–Aesop

Not too long ago there was w wonderful movie called “Pay it Forward.” In life there are so many opportunities to do a small kindness. Let someone with a few groceries go in front of you, smile as you pass people on the street, give a package of crackers to a homeless person. Sometimes you don’t get even a thank you but that doesn’t matter. Somewhere, somehow it will make a difference.

be kind possible

Loving God, remind us that even the smallest kindness matters. AMEN

The fern is green!

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Outside of my house I can see the resurrection ferns growing on the oak trees. I love having this reminder of how life can come from death. When things are dry and there is little rain it turns brown and looks dead. Then the rains come and it rises green. I remember the hymn “Now the Green Blade Riseth” and the fern is proof of that.

resurrection fern

J. M. C. Crum
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 311

Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.

Yes! Love lives again. Thanks be to God! AMEN