quote

quote i just found:
"Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good."
— Maya Angelou (Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer)

Friends

Wrote this today for our church national association Lenten devotions publication

"I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15 TNIV

My friend and I ate our dessert in silence. With some folks, it is awkward when neither has anything to say. This friend and I are comfortable in silence together. We have been friends since grade school. We were not in touch for a time, as we both went through considerable life changes. But we are back together, and it is just as if we were never apart. What a gift it is to have a such a close friend!

Jesus said to the disciples, "I called you friends". What a gift! He called them friends, because He made known what He knew from God. This is intimacy, when one shares with another. Sharing requires that we are open to one another. The disciples were open to Jesus' teachings. It was a process that did not happen overnight! Real intimacy does not happen instantaneously. It comes over time.

How can we allow ourselves to be more open to the teachings of Jesus? Can we spend more time with Him, in our Bible time, small groups, in worship, and in service? Shall we accept the gift of friendship from our Lord?

Prayer: Loving Lord, thank you for the gift of friendship. Help us to grow in our friendship with You and with other Christians. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

be still

Devotion that i gave this morning at church staff meeting: The senior minister is beginning a sermon series on spiritual discernment, How do we discern (learn, interpret, comprehend) the direction God is leading us? So the first step is : Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

We need to have quiet time in order to hear from God. in 1 Kings 19, the voice of the Lord is referred to as "still, small voice". in our time, the word "small" seems to mean "insignificant". And of course God's voice is significant! Author Henri Nouwen refers to the voice of God as "an intimate voice". It is not loud, or pushy like a tv sales pitch! In fact I think we are so used to "hey hey Have I got a deal for you" in our daily lives, that we do not remember to take time to be still and know that God is. We pray for the ability to better listen to the intimate voice of God.

Godly Goals

On Jan. 1, as I sat down to do my Bible reading, I was thinking/praying about my New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are goals. To effectively set goals, whether personal or for a group or business, there need to be parameters. Good goals need to be specific, realistic, & measurable. And as I was pondering this, I realized that as a Christian, as one called to serve, my goals also need to be Godly! And what better way to have Godly Goals, than to use Scripture!?
So my goal of reading thru the Bible this year (which has a side benefit of being more knowledgeable about it!) is "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." So I can pray, "Lord, help me spend more time reading and pondering your word, and help it grow in me and guide me in all I do"

2010

a new year! so is it pronounced twenty-ten or two thousand ten?

Last night's New Year's Eve service and supper at church went well. and broke up earlier than usual which was good! we were home by 8:30. I went to sleep early but woke up before midnight. and the neighborhood was quieter than usual at midnight, a few firecracker volleys but that was it. I read Revelation 21 & 22, the description of the heaven..the New Jerusalem. "Behold I am coming soon!"

at the service we sang a couple songs, then i read Gen 1:1-5 and John 1:1-5 and 1:14. Talked about language, words. God merely spoke and everything was created. and His word-promises, law and covenants came to Abraham and Moses. The prophets spoke of God; then Jesus the Word, is God and is the promise of God's word. We can have The Word within us, Jesus as savior and the word of God as we read and meditate and pray on it.

and I am going to go do just that. I have a new Bible reading plan and devotions for the new year. knowing that there will be days I do not manage the 'daily readings' I am going to allot days like today, downtime, to read chunks. bliss.

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus be with us more each day in this new year! Shalom, Carol