Category: change

Too important?

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Anybody can observe the Sabbath but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week. ————-Alice Walker

Our society has almost done away with the Sabbath. God called it a day of rest. God realized that we would need time to rest our bodies and our souls. Today we think that we can’t stop. We have too much to do. Guilt comes over us if we stop. This is arrogance. This is thinking that we are so important that the world can’t do without us for a few hours.

We must take time to rest our souls and bodies. I promise..we are not that important.

Hubris-means-deadly-pride-Thinking-you-can-do

 

Patient God, you watch us struggle to keep up 24/7. You know we need the rest. Help us to see that too. AMEN

Is everything everything?

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There must be more to life than having everything. ————-Maurice Sendak

There are many ways to look at having everything but for our culture it usually means having money and or fame. We make idols of the rich and famous. We see them as happy and complete.

If you read about most of them their lives are not what we think. The money and the fame don’t make up for what they are really missing…. a relationship with God. Only God can fill that space inside of us that feels to empty.

God fills

 

 

Infinite God, you are what fills and completes us. Help us to draw closer to you each day. AMEN

Odd choices

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There we no functional families in scripture. ———-an insight

We think that there is so much that we have to do or be before we can be of any use to God. Absolutely not true. If you just look at the people God used in scripture you can see that they were not who you would expect. David–an adulterer, Joseph’s family sold him into slavery, Rahab was a prostitute. There are many other examples. God knows we cannot be perfect. He chooses who he wants to do his work.

choices

Quirky God, you seem to pick the most unlikely people to do your work. Help us to see that we don’t have to be perfect but just follow you. AMEN

Moods and feelings

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faith lewis

Our feelings and moods change from day to day. Today we may feel that God is close and our faith is strong. Tomorrow God may feel distant and we question. Sometimes our faith is challenged by something painful and we may back away from God. But God never changes and is always there waiting.

Present God, thank you for putting up with our moods and feelings. Thank you for always being present no matter what we feel. Help us to see your presence. AMEN

Why are we here?

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If I can stop one heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching
Or cool one in pain

Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again,
I shall not live in Vain.

Emily Dickinson

flower 1

We often wonder “why are we here?” What is the point of this life? I think that this poem tells us why. We are here to love God’s world and everything in it.

Miraculous God, help us to cherish everything in this world. AMEN

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

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