Read Psalm 19:1-6. Key Verse: The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. (v. 1)
Even in the roar of silence we cannot hear God, for our thoughts outweigh God and our passions define who we seek to be. Yet, the Psalmist says, listen closely and even nature speaks for God. A lovely sunset, a spectacular sunrise, a thunder storm, a cloudless day, or a starry night, all tell of the glory of God. The wildflowers in bloom this time of year along our highways also join that chorus of splendid hallelujahs to the wonders of God. What message could God possibly be speaking to us?
If we listen, here's what I believe we can hear:
1. God is still in control.
2. The way God ordered the heavens and the earth is the way God can order our lives.
3. The wisdom needed to create is the wisdom needed to sustain.
4. The power of God to stir the storms is the same power that calms the seas.
May it be so in our lives and in the lives of our churches.
PRAYER: Creator God, bring calm and peace to the needs of my life and my church. May Your power bring new creation even where there seems to be no hope. In Jesus I pray, amen.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Neighbors?
Read Luke 10:25-37. Key Verse: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (v. 27)
"What can save my church?" is a question most church- goers are asking these days, United Methodists not exempt. The real answer is to ask, what must we do to allow God to change our hearts towards those whom we fail to recognize as our neighbors?
The above passage is known by most as "The Good Samaritan". This is a story told by Jesus to demonstrate the lack of compassion on the part of those whom we would assume should and would have compassion to care, but Jesus knew the hearts of many then as now, care little or nothing about those different than themselves. And in this story shows that even those from whom nothing or little is expected, are the only ones who care and compassion.
As our neighborhoods change so should our churches. If our new neighbors dress or talk differently from us we should change our hearts towards accepting and welcoming them. Then we will be loving our neighbors as ourselves.
PRAYER: Loving God, transform my heart to be a disciple that loves You in all ways and all my neighbors as myself. May I realize that "neighbors" are not limited to my neighborhood. Amen.
"What can save my church?" is a question most church- goers are asking these days, United Methodists not exempt. The real answer is to ask, what must we do to allow God to change our hearts towards those whom we fail to recognize as our neighbors?
The above passage is known by most as "The Good Samaritan". This is a story told by Jesus to demonstrate the lack of compassion on the part of those whom we would assume should and would have compassion to care, but Jesus knew the hearts of many then as now, care little or nothing about those different than themselves. And in this story shows that even those from whom nothing or little is expected, are the only ones who care and compassion.
As our neighborhoods change so should our churches. If our new neighbors dress or talk differently from us we should change our hearts towards accepting and welcoming them. Then we will be loving our neighbors as ourselves.
PRAYER: Loving God, transform my heart to be a disciple that loves You in all ways and all my neighbors as myself. May I realize that "neighbors" are not limited to my neighborhood. Amen.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
One Holy Habit to Have
Read Mark 1:35-39 Key Verse: While it was still night, way before dawn, (Jesus) got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed.
We cannot underscore the importance and power of prayer in our lives. We have as our model Jesus, who made time to pray. Jesus felt the need to stay connected with God, and gave us the model of using prayer as worship and prayer as way not only to talk with God, but to listen for God as well. Jesus' every word and miracles was connected to the way He spent time in prayer. Time spent with God in solitude and quiet prepared Him for the loud distracting noises He would encounter during his daily life.
A second key verse would be verse 39 of the power Jesus used after He prayed to "preach and to cast out demons." (paraphrase mine). Imagine how much more we could do if we spent more time in prayer, talking and listening to God.
Stop for a moment and consider all the people all over the world who are in prayer for the coming General Conference. Each is asking for God to lead, bless, and direct the future of our Church. Each is asking a blessing to come your way. Won't you join in and ask God to bless the one praying for you?
PRAYER: Loving God, may Your rich and wonderful and sometimes unexplainable blessings for this reader be made evident today. May we all join together in praying for our Church to reach more and truly be the Church You called us to be. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
We cannot underscore the importance and power of prayer in our lives. We have as our model Jesus, who made time to pray. Jesus felt the need to stay connected with God, and gave us the model of using prayer as worship and prayer as way not only to talk with God, but to listen for God as well. Jesus' every word and miracles was connected to the way He spent time in prayer. Time spent with God in solitude and quiet prepared Him for the loud distracting noises He would encounter during his daily life.
A second key verse would be verse 39 of the power Jesus used after He prayed to "preach and to cast out demons." (paraphrase mine). Imagine how much more we could do if we spent more time in prayer, talking and listening to God.
Stop for a moment and consider all the people all over the world who are in prayer for the coming General Conference. Each is asking for God to lead, bless, and direct the future of our Church. Each is asking a blessing to come your way. Won't you join in and ask God to bless the one praying for you?
PRAYER: Loving God, may Your rich and wonderful and sometimes unexplainable blessings for this reader be made evident today. May we all join together in praying for our Church to reach more and truly be the Church You called us to be. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
God's Wisdom, not Mine
Read 1 Kings 2:1-4; 3:1-9. Key Verse: keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.(v 2:3)
This passage is about a father and son, David and Solomon. The father seeks to give counsel to the son, and the son actually seeks God's counsel, but we know the life story of the son and how he did not always listen to God. As he prospered his listening to God was not what it should have been, and soon he listened to no one except himself and as a result all that he sought to gain for the good of the nation was lost.
God's wisdom should be what we seek in all things, not ours. As we pray, we worship and we talk to God, but as we say our Amen, we are indeed saying, "God, it is Your turn to talk and my turn to listen," and the blessing of wisdom will be ours.
How noisy have our churches become with so many voices that think they are speaking God's wisdom that we no longer listen to God? Is this true in your church? Is this true for you? May it be that as we pray for General Conference we might indeed say, "Loving God speak to me/us, so that I/we may hear what You would have for us to do and be."
PRAYER: Lord, may the distractions of the noise around us not drown out Your voice. Help me to listen and hear that which You speak to us. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
This passage is about a father and son, David and Solomon. The father seeks to give counsel to the son, and the son actually seeks God's counsel, but we know the life story of the son and how he did not always listen to God. As he prospered his listening to God was not what it should have been, and soon he listened to no one except himself and as a result all that he sought to gain for the good of the nation was lost.
God's wisdom should be what we seek in all things, not ours. As we pray, we worship and we talk to God, but as we say our Amen, we are indeed saying, "God, it is Your turn to talk and my turn to listen," and the blessing of wisdom will be ours.
How noisy have our churches become with so many voices that think they are speaking God's wisdom that we no longer listen to God? Is this true in your church? Is this true for you? May it be that as we pray for General Conference we might indeed say, "Loving God speak to me/us, so that I/we may hear what You would have for us to do and be."
PRAYER: Lord, may the distractions of the noise around us not drown out Your voice. Help me to listen and hear that which You speak to us. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
GOD CAN STILL MOVE IN OUR MIDST!
Read Isaiah 35. Key Verse: Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
It is hard to choose a "key verse" in such a beautiful and powerful passage as is this short chapter of Isaiah. It is a passage of promise and hope and speaks even today to all who might have fear in their heart or in their church. It is a message to endure, to press on, and to not be discouraged about what God has, is, and will do in our midst. What seems impossible to us today, God will make real.
One of my children's favorite movies is "The Lion King," though there is a part in it where as this passage from Isaiah says is like "the haunt of jackals." That part of the movie is dark and scary; much like some days in our lives. But the overall theme of this writer's purpose is to share God's word about what God will do to get us out of that day of darkness and hopelessness. Last night a pastor called to share an "Amen" week that she is having. It goes with what Isaiah wrote, for this pastor is seeing and rejoicing in what God promises as they face and are defeating a financial challenge. My favorite quote from her was that people who had never before committed to God financially are now giving, and all are experiencing the joy of presence of God moving in their midst.
May it be so for all of the United Methodist churches throughout the world. May the General Conference be but the start of a new movement of God's Spirit in our midst.
PRAYER: Start in me, Holy One, and let me be a part of the hope and joy that is yet to come. In Jesus I pray, amen!
It is hard to choose a "key verse" in such a beautiful and powerful passage as is this short chapter of Isaiah. It is a passage of promise and hope and speaks even today to all who might have fear in their heart or in their church. It is a message to endure, to press on, and to not be discouraged about what God has, is, and will do in our midst. What seems impossible to us today, God will make real.
One of my children's favorite movies is "The Lion King," though there is a part in it where as this passage from Isaiah says is like "the haunt of jackals." That part of the movie is dark and scary; much like some days in our lives. But the overall theme of this writer's purpose is to share God's word about what God will do to get us out of that day of darkness and hopelessness. Last night a pastor called to share an "Amen" week that she is having. It goes with what Isaiah wrote, for this pastor is seeing and rejoicing in what God promises as they face and are defeating a financial challenge. My favorite quote from her was that people who had never before committed to God financially are now giving, and all are experiencing the joy of presence of God moving in their midst.
May it be so for all of the United Methodist churches throughout the world. May the General Conference be but the start of a new movement of God's Spirit in our midst.
PRAYER: Start in me, Holy One, and let me be a part of the hope and joy that is yet to come. In Jesus I pray, amen!
Monday, March 26, 2012
God's Dwelling Place
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 Key Verse: may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 23b)
To sanctify means to make sacred or holy. Today's verses are short but powerful. It speaks of the power God has to make what we might deem as normal, holy. And it speaks of the need for this in our bodies and souls. Our bodies, we ask? What business does God have in our bodies? All business. The Bible speaks of the body being the temple of God and yet some of us sometimes treat it like a place where we welcome anything or anyone but not God. What do we allow God to do in our bodies to glorify God? Do we not pray for healing when we are sick? Should we not seek to stay well by helping God with what we do to our bodies? The promise at the end of today's passage speaks of God's faithfulness to do just that.
The question we also can ask is what condition or shape our churches are in. And not just physically, but in our spiritual life as a corporate entity? Are we serving God or serving ourselves? May our prayer be that as General Conference approaches we would commit ourselves and our churches to being healthy before God and open to God's power to change us for the better.
PRAYER: Loving God, remind me daily that this body I have is Yours and I should treat it as Your dwelling place. May my church also continue to be Your dwelling place as well. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
To sanctify means to make sacred or holy. Today's verses are short but powerful. It speaks of the power God has to make what we might deem as normal, holy. And it speaks of the need for this in our bodies and souls. Our bodies, we ask? What business does God have in our bodies? All business. The Bible speaks of the body being the temple of God and yet some of us sometimes treat it like a place where we welcome anything or anyone but not God. What do we allow God to do in our bodies to glorify God? Do we not pray for healing when we are sick? Should we not seek to stay well by helping God with what we do to our bodies? The promise at the end of today's passage speaks of God's faithfulness to do just that.
The question we also can ask is what condition or shape our churches are in. And not just physically, but in our spiritual life as a corporate entity? Are we serving God or serving ourselves? May our prayer be that as General Conference approaches we would commit ourselves and our churches to being healthy before God and open to God's power to change us for the better.
PRAYER: Loving God, remind me daily that this body I have is Yours and I should treat it as Your dwelling place. May my church also continue to be Your dwelling place as well. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Is Your Church Grieving?
Read Psalm 31. Key Verse: Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege. (v. 31)
As we continue to hear reports of our denomination's decline here in the USA it has become evident that a lot of our churches are grieving. Their life as a church mirror the words of the psalmist. There is one verse that speaks of his having "passed out of mind like one who is dead; I (we?) have become like a broken vessel. (v. 12). Many grieving churches act out as one whose "mind" is "dead," and make decisions that do not bless anyone or anything but caters to the fear felt out of this grief. But the key is that God is the Potter and our churches, like this psalmist, must recognize we are "vessels" which the Potter can make new.
Our prayers should be prayers of hope and faith in the powerful hands of the One who made all things. God as Creator and Potter not only creates, but mends, and makes new the old and broken. May a new heart and a new purpose come into all churches so that one day soon, great celebrations will erupt from those whose churches are again new vessels of hope and transformation for those new disciples that will be made, for the transformation of the world.
PRAYER: Dear God, may it be so. Amen.
As we continue to hear reports of our denomination's decline here in the USA it has become evident that a lot of our churches are grieving. Their life as a church mirror the words of the psalmist. There is one verse that speaks of his having "passed out of mind like one who is dead; I (we?) have become like a broken vessel. (v. 12). Many grieving churches act out as one whose "mind" is "dead," and make decisions that do not bless anyone or anything but caters to the fear felt out of this grief. But the key is that God is the Potter and our churches, like this psalmist, must recognize we are "vessels" which the Potter can make new.
Our prayers should be prayers of hope and faith in the powerful hands of the One who made all things. God as Creator and Potter not only creates, but mends, and makes new the old and broken. May a new heart and a new purpose come into all churches so that one day soon, great celebrations will erupt from those whose churches are again new vessels of hope and transformation for those new disciples that will be made, for the transformation of the world.
PRAYER: Dear God, may it be so. Amen.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Christians and Fear
Read John 20: 19-23. Key Verse: Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (V. 21)
The theme for many who call themselves Christians is fear. That is a contradiction of faith, yet, like the disciples, we are not exempt from it. The 12 were locked in this Upper Room out of fear, praying and waiting. Come to think of it, praying and waiting is not a bad foundation to have during times of fear. Our churches going through times of fear should learn from this. We pray and wait until we are visited once again by Jesus' Holy Spirt. Then the work will truly begin again!
PRAYER: come, Holy Spirit into those places of fear in our hearts. You can't miss them, they're the ones with shadows of coming night. Shine brightly the light and power of peace. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
The theme for many who call themselves Christians is fear. That is a contradiction of faith, yet, like the disciples, we are not exempt from it. The 12 were locked in this Upper Room out of fear, praying and waiting. Come to think of it, praying and waiting is not a bad foundation to have during times of fear. Our churches going through times of fear should learn from this. We pray and wait until we are visited once again by Jesus' Holy Spirt. Then the work will truly begin again!
PRAYER: come, Holy Spirit into those places of fear in our hearts. You can't miss them, they're the ones with shadows of coming night. Shine brightly the light and power of peace. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Where God Dwells
Read 1 Kings 8:27-30 Key Verse: Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.
I loved taking classes on the Old Testament because of the professor. Each class was an adventure as he made pages from an old, old book become new. Everything he said about the book I believed and treasured. I remember his emphasis on the passage where God declares that a home for God was not necessary for God dwelt in all the earth. Yet, with the power and wealth of Kings David and Solomon, came the order that they could now afford and should build a house. This passage deals with Solomon's wrestling with the ancient idea; God dwells everywhere, how could this house that hands have built possibly contain God? Yet, the "deal" that Solomon is making with God is still with the people of Israel as found in the key verse: Even as people pray to this house, hear in heaven these prayers and forgive those who ask.
Yet, we know that God as big as God is, can choose to come into the routine of our lives and it was exactly what God did in the pages of the New Testament. God, through Jesus, came into the smallness of Bethlehem, and moved about the earth bringing further proof of God's love for us. We still have the job of sharing that love with all. Why do some keep it hidden? Why are some content with just being about the Church and not about the people outside of the walls of the church?
As we pray for the days of General Conference to come, let us also pray that God would continue the movement that has been started in our hearts to love and care beyond our churches, to truly be people of God, who seek to reach all. May our prayer help us make new disciples who truly want the world transformed.
PRAYER: God of the universe, enter again into the spaces of my life in such a way that I might share You with others. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
I loved taking classes on the Old Testament because of the professor. Each class was an adventure as he made pages from an old, old book become new. Everything he said about the book I believed and treasured. I remember his emphasis on the passage where God declares that a home for God was not necessary for God dwelt in all the earth. Yet, with the power and wealth of Kings David and Solomon, came the order that they could now afford and should build a house. This passage deals with Solomon's wrestling with the ancient idea; God dwells everywhere, how could this house that hands have built possibly contain God? Yet, the "deal" that Solomon is making with God is still with the people of Israel as found in the key verse: Even as people pray to this house, hear in heaven these prayers and forgive those who ask.
Yet, we know that God as big as God is, can choose to come into the routine of our lives and it was exactly what God did in the pages of the New Testament. God, through Jesus, came into the smallness of Bethlehem, and moved about the earth bringing further proof of God's love for us. We still have the job of sharing that love with all. Why do some keep it hidden? Why are some content with just being about the Church and not about the people outside of the walls of the church?
As we pray for the days of General Conference to come, let us also pray that God would continue the movement that has been started in our hearts to love and care beyond our churches, to truly be people of God, who seek to reach all. May our prayer help us make new disciples who truly want the world transformed.
PRAYER: God of the universe, enter again into the spaces of my life in such a way that I might share You with others. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
LEST WE FORGET
Read Deuteronomy 26:4-11 Key Verse: The Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders
Most of us can never forget from where we came. The joy and memories of our old places serve to bless our lives. If we came from a hard and difficult place, that serves to remind us that we never want to return to such a place. If we were confined to a bed with illness or if we were incarcerated by an addiction, we truly never want that for our lives ever again. But if God delivered us from such places we should stop and remember and give thanks in celebration for the power of God in such circumstances.
Our churches should have open doors to allow all who want to come in and give thanks for the way God has delievered or transformed their lives. Our open doors also serve to allow us to go out of our churches to reach those who need to hear of God's great power to deliver and make whole.
You and I have that opportunity to share what God has done in and through us. God is not finished with us.
Prayer: Loving God may our hearts always be open to give thanks to You for what You did to deliver us from our past. May our minds be open to new visions of how to more effectively go forth and serve You. We pray for our churches, our church leaders, our pastors, our district superintendents, our bishops, that we may receive at General Conference a new plan and purpose for our life as United Methodists to faithfully serve You. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Most of us can never forget from where we came. The joy and memories of our old places serve to bless our lives. If we came from a hard and difficult place, that serves to remind us that we never want to return to such a place. If we were confined to a bed with illness or if we were incarcerated by an addiction, we truly never want that for our lives ever again. But if God delivered us from such places we should stop and remember and give thanks in celebration for the power of God in such circumstances.
Our churches should have open doors to allow all who want to come in and give thanks for the way God has delievered or transformed their lives. Our open doors also serve to allow us to go out of our churches to reach those who need to hear of God's great power to deliver and make whole.
You and I have that opportunity to share what God has done in and through us. God is not finished with us.
Prayer: Loving God may our hearts always be open to give thanks to You for what You did to deliver us from our past. May our minds be open to new visions of how to more effectively go forth and serve You. We pray for our churches, our church leaders, our pastors, our district superintendents, our bishops, that we may receive at General Conference a new plan and purpose for our life as United Methodists to faithfully serve You. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Walking in Light
Read Matthew 4: 12-16. Key Verse: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." (v. 16)
This verse comes at a time of great sadness for Jesus. His cousin, John the Baptist, had been arrested and Jesus knew what would be the outcome of that arrest and so He withdrew to be alone in a new area. His very presence in this area Matthew says is a fulfillment of prophecy. A land known for its darkness has now seen a great light. Indeed, the verse says, people who have walked in darkness have seen this great light.
Our prayers for our upcoming General Conference are for a people that have seen a great light, embraced Him and excitedly shared Jesus with many. Yet, some of them are now walking in the shadow of death for most churches, while others are enjoying new life and great response to the Gospel.
How will you respond to the light?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to turn towards You and Your light. May I know the light can defeat the darkness and the forces of darkness. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
This verse comes at a time of great sadness for Jesus. His cousin, John the Baptist, had been arrested and Jesus knew what would be the outcome of that arrest and so He withdrew to be alone in a new area. His very presence in this area Matthew says is a fulfillment of prophecy. A land known for its darkness has now seen a great light. Indeed, the verse says, people who have walked in darkness have seen this great light.
Our prayers for our upcoming General Conference are for a people that have seen a great light, embraced Him and excitedly shared Jesus with many. Yet, some of them are now walking in the shadow of death for most churches, while others are enjoying new life and great response to the Gospel.
How will you respond to the light?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to turn towards You and Your light. May I know the light can defeat the darkness and the forces of darkness. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Gift of Giving Even Humbly. Day 5 of 50
Read John 13:1-17, 31-35. Key Verse: 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Today's passage centers on Jesus' action of foot washing at the Communion Table. It was an action that caught the disciples off-guard. I remember the first pastors meeting with new bishop, Ray Owen. He had gathered us in a camp setting, preached to us and then divided us into groups. He came and symbolically washed our feet. I say symbolically because he used a towel to wipe our shoes. Even that was something I had not expected and that caught me off guard. I could only imagine the disciples' reaction based on Peter's response to first refuse to receive something like that from his Lord and master, then to respond with understanding, "Not only my feet, my hands and head!"
Yet the most powerful passage in this text is the one found in today's key verse, this "new commandment," that we love one another. To show its power and need, Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Perhaps that's where the Church is failing. We have more love for our group, our "territory," our agenda, our own self-serving purposes. The way we see it in the local church we see it in the larger church, and we ask where is the love? Where are those symbols of service and love, such as foot washing among us today? And I'm not talking about foot washing in a worship setting, but in a sense of love and service outside the church.
PRAYER: Loving God, let me give as I receive. May I be known for my love for You and Yours. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Today's passage centers on Jesus' action of foot washing at the Communion Table. It was an action that caught the disciples off-guard. I remember the first pastors meeting with new bishop, Ray Owen. He had gathered us in a camp setting, preached to us and then divided us into groups. He came and symbolically washed our feet. I say symbolically because he used a towel to wipe our shoes. Even that was something I had not expected and that caught me off guard. I could only imagine the disciples' reaction based on Peter's response to first refuse to receive something like that from his Lord and master, then to respond with understanding, "Not only my feet, my hands and head!"
Yet the most powerful passage in this text is the one found in today's key verse, this "new commandment," that we love one another. To show its power and need, Jesus said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Perhaps that's where the Church is failing. We have more love for our group, our "territory," our agenda, our own self-serving purposes. The way we see it in the local church we see it in the larger church, and we ask where is the love? Where are those symbols of service and love, such as foot washing among us today? And I'm not talking about foot washing in a worship setting, but in a sense of love and service outside the church.
PRAYER: Loving God, let me give as I receive. May I be known for my love for You and Yours. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Excitement in God's Power. Day 4 of 50
Read Luke 5:1-11. Key verse: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."
I flew to Oklahoma City this weekend. I am not an eager flyer. Nor am I a fan of spring break flyers on my plane. On the leg from Dallas to Oklahoma City, the announcment was made that we would not be a full flight and I was thankful that I might just get a row to myself. I sat towards the front and guess where most people want to sit. A woman and her daughter took the row across the aisle to join one who had already chosen the window seat. Then a little boy, about 11 or 12, who had already walked past, returned back and asked if he could sit in my row. Of course. But then he sat right next to me. I thought, why here and not the window seat? He then pulled out an old iPod with a cracked screen and started shaking it and putting it to his ear. If I wanted conversation this was my "in." I asked if his screen always looked like that and off we went into conversation. I learned the purpose of his trip, his little cousin's sixth birthday, and that if he were lucky, he would get to go fishing on his uncle's lake. He was an evangelist for fishing. He lives in Dallas and told me that if ever I found myself in Dallas and had time I needed to fish at this or that lake (I forgot the names!). His joy for the sport made me ashamed to admit that I had only tried it once and never again.
The fishing story in today's text tells of the awesome power of God to bring in when we think there's nothing to bring in. Our empty pews on Sunday tell us that we're like the pre-fishing trip disciples. We "try" or so we say, and there's nothing to bring in. Jesus said for them to try something different and that made all the difference in the world.
We can think we're powerless and live that way or we can say we serve a powerful God and do the things God has asked of us. In all that may happen we have to acknowledge that it was God's power that did what was done. We have to stand ready to call on God and then to be used by God for God's purpose and glory.
PRAYER: May I be Your vessel dear God of Your grace for the needs of this world. May my excitement match that of that little boy for fishing. There are so many that we have not yet reached, may I be among those who does reach them for You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
I flew to Oklahoma City this weekend. I am not an eager flyer. Nor am I a fan of spring break flyers on my plane. On the leg from Dallas to Oklahoma City, the announcment was made that we would not be a full flight and I was thankful that I might just get a row to myself. I sat towards the front and guess where most people want to sit. A woman and her daughter took the row across the aisle to join one who had already chosen the window seat. Then a little boy, about 11 or 12, who had already walked past, returned back and asked if he could sit in my row. Of course. But then he sat right next to me. I thought, why here and not the window seat? He then pulled out an old iPod with a cracked screen and started shaking it and putting it to his ear. If I wanted conversation this was my "in." I asked if his screen always looked like that and off we went into conversation. I learned the purpose of his trip, his little cousin's sixth birthday, and that if he were lucky, he would get to go fishing on his uncle's lake. He was an evangelist for fishing. He lives in Dallas and told me that if ever I found myself in Dallas and had time I needed to fish at this or that lake (I forgot the names!). His joy for the sport made me ashamed to admit that I had only tried it once and never again.
The fishing story in today's text tells of the awesome power of God to bring in when we think there's nothing to bring in. Our empty pews on Sunday tell us that we're like the pre-fishing trip disciples. We "try" or so we say, and there's nothing to bring in. Jesus said for them to try something different and that made all the difference in the world.
We can think we're powerless and live that way or we can say we serve a powerful God and do the things God has asked of us. In all that may happen we have to acknowledge that it was God's power that did what was done. We have to stand ready to call on God and then to be used by God for God's purpose and glory.
PRAYER: May I be Your vessel dear God of Your grace for the needs of this world. May my excitement match that of that little boy for fishing. There are so many that we have not yet reached, may I be among those who does reach them for You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
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