ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

This is the last of my daily re-posts of d365 with a personal addition. To continue using these daily devotions, visit and bookmark www.d365.org. Happy Easter to you all!

Presence of God
A quick look through the book of Psalms will reveal a theme that repeats itself again and again - the steadfast love of God.
When we look at Jesus we see the reflection of what God is like. In his life, in facing death, and in death itself, Jesus remained faithful in his love towards those he came to save.
As we journey through Holy Week, you will see the steadfast love of God again and again, fully revealed in the face of Jesus.

Word of God
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
    John 20:11-18

Devotion
Can you picture Mary, feeling her way in the dark to the last place she saw her Lord? But he isn’t there. The stone has been rolled away and his body is gone. She thinks someone has stolen it. It’s only later, as she is standing outside the tomb weeping, that she turns and sees a mysterious stranger standing there. She thinks he’s the gardener. She says, “If you’ve carried him off somewhere tell me and I will take him away.” And then Jesus calls her name, “Mary,” and in that moment she recognizes him for who he really is — the risen Lord.

Do you know how that is, how you can pick your mother’s voice out of a hundred other voices? This is the one who gave you life. This is the one who taught you love.

I think that’s how it was for Mary.
    Jim Somerville

Yes, I think for Mary it was the tone/timbre of Jesus’ voice as he spoke her name that was the giveaway .... just as it was the act of breaking the bread for the two who walked the Emmaus Road with him later that day.

It makes me wonder what ‘gives Jesus away’ to you, makes his presence distinct from others? There are probably several things, since we did not have the joy of actually walking and talking with the living human or pre-ascended physically on-earth Jesus as did these folks. But I think it is good to have identified what it is that usually prompts you to Jesus’ presence with you.

For me it centers on deep, spirit-filled music; direct eye contact with the one serving me the elements of Eucharist (and not just handing a plate of to me without a word!); settings of light and shadow in the natural world (especially when I have a camera); a whole hoard of symbols and ritual acts (lighting the advent candles, a Tenebrae, etc.) sunrises (and sunsets).

I pray you had a meeting with the risen Lord today, and will continue to throughout this Eastertide and beyond. He is always right there, speaking, singing, breaking, lighting, rising up — just waiting for us to hear or see or take notice.  Alleluia!
     Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
Jesus. Teacher. Source of life and love. On this day I celebrate your resurrection, grateful beyond words that you are now and forever alive and well. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Benediction
O that you and I might be,
Like Jesus,
Faithful and true.

God grant us grace
That we might become,
Like Christ,
Steadfast in our love too.

In a dry gulch alongside the driveway loop of Ghost Ranch Conference Center, Abiquiu, New Mexico --- a falling leaf caught mid-air while shooting the beauty of the shadow's tracery on the already fallen leaves

 

A life and death battle at stake for this tree in a harsh, rocky yet vibrant setting in that same dry gulch

 

Seeing the awesome beauty of these back-lit leaf layers (still in that same dry gulch) is something that I consciously continue to attribute now to a creation spoken into being by one who was 'with God and ....was God.  In him was life and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.' (see John 1:1-4)

The Lord is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! 

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

On this day of silence -- well, of course, I had to fill the void. So again, the daily devotion from d365 with my 'backtalk' added. 

Presence of God
A quick look through the book of Psalms will reveal a theme that repeats itself again and again - the steadfast love of God.
When we look at Jesus we see the reflection of what God is like. In his life, in facing death, and in death itself, Jesus remained faithful in his love towards those he came to save.
As we journey through Holy Week, you will see the steadfast love of God again and again, fully revealed in the face of Jesus.

Word of God
After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
    John 19:38-42

Devotion
Today is “Holy Saturday,” and if you can think about it this way, ---- it’s the only day in history when Jesus wasn’t alive.

The Gospel of John says that Jesus was in the beginning with God, and that all things were made through him. He was the “Word” that was with God and was God. If that’s true, then he existed from the very beginning — he was alive and well even before he “became flesh and lived among us,” as John says. But on this day — the Saturday after Good Friday — he was dead.

Can you imagine how it would be if you couldn’t talk to Jesus? If you couldn’t count on him to be there when you needed him? Think how his disciples must have felt, and how grateful we can be that of all the days in history, this was the only one when Jesus wasn’t alive.
    Jim Somerville

I, myself, have for a long time used the name ‘Jesus’ to refer to the ‘fully human’ part of the incarnate God and ‘Christ’ to refer to the ‘fully God’ part. Which in Jesus Christ the God-human are intermingled and not truly distinct, and yet to me, somehow important to recognize. So it is a bit jarring for me to read that JESUS (as opposed to Christ or Logos/the Word) was alive for all of history except that one day.

But theological hair-splitting aside .... to answer his question, YES. And so can anyone who has buried someone beloved. I just wrote an email this past week to a friend who is losing her husband to dementia. I affirmed my dad’s statement that the hardest day-in, day-out point in surviving the death of a spouse was the loss of the trusted ‘sounding board,’ the person you could go to for insight or to just talk through a situation and clear your head about the choices before you.

Oh, God, how deeply grateful I am that I did not have to experience THAT silence, even for a day.
    Norma Prina Murphy
   
Conversation with God
Jesus, I don’t like to think of you cold and dead and lying in the tomb. I like to think of you alive and well and listening as I pray. On this day help me remember how much you mean to me, as I wait with hope for your resurrection. Amen.

Benediction
O that you and I might be,
Like Jesus,
Faithful and true.

God grant us grace
That we might become,
Like Christ,
Steadfast in our love too.

The day that creation held its breath ...

 

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

It was a very busy day with a triple confirmation class, then eating with them before heading across the street to the  community Good Friday service... and that after a morning proofing and finalizing Sunday's bulletin and finishing the prep for the kids .... and after worship I spent an hour cleaning up from confirmation and taking fresh pictures of the cross as it is set up THIS year ... and then finishing the worship assistant's  liturgy for Sunday. 

In other words, a typical day in the life of a small church pastor in Holy Week ... AND you should probably be surprised that there's a posting for Friday at all!

But I couldn't let GOOD Friday go by without a peep ....


 Presence of God
A quick look through the book of Psalms will reveal a theme that repeats itself again and again - the steadfast love of God.
When we look at Jesus we see the reflection of what God is like. In his life, in facing death, and in death itself, Jesus remained faithful in his love towards those he came to save.
As we journey through Holy Week, you will see the steadfast love of God again and again, fully revealed in the face of Jesus.

Word of God
From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.
    John 19:12-20

Devotion
n John’s Gospel, Jesus’ crucifixion is a kind of coronation. Nobody takes his life from him; he lays it down of his own accord. And nobody carries his cross for him; he carries it on his own. And when they finally nail him to the cross and lift it up there he is in all his glory — the King of the Jews. It may be a crown of thorns on his head, but it is a crown nonetheless.

Pilate writes the inscription in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, as if he wanted everyone to know that Jesus was “The King of the Jews.” He seems to have become convinced.

What about you? Can you see in that tortured figure on the cross a king? And can you see in those twisted thorns on his head a crown? It’s not easy for some people to see it, but Pilate knew — it’s there.
    Jim Somerville

Merriam-Webster defines ‘king’ as:
1  a : a male monarch of a major territorial unit; esp: one whose position is hereditary and who rules for life
    b : a paramount chief
2  capitalized : god, christ
3  one that holds a preeminent position; especially : a chief among competitors

I find it most interesting that they identify the ‘capitalized’ King with the NOT capitalized ‘god, christ’ — most likely an attempt at political correctness, but let’s be real — if you’re going to allude to one as a proper noun, why not the others?

Maybe they have some trouble seeing it too .... or admitting it.

But in every single sense of the word as they have defined it (excluding game pieces, etc.) Jesus fit the bill. He met and exceeded all qualifications for all definitions of King.
 
No wonder Pilate knew. God might have just as well have shined a spotlight on him.

No wonder I can't get the majestic, soaring, dancing tune DIADEM out of my head ... and its most well known text: And cro-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-own him! Crown him! Crown him! Crown him!......

    Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
Lord Jesus, even on this day when I find you hanging from a cruel cross, help me see in you the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.

Benediction
O that you and I might be,
Like Jesus,
Faithful and true.

God grant us grace
That we might become,
Like Christ,
Steadfast in our love too.

And of course, since God didn't shine a spotlight...Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

Maundy Thursday --- the first day of the great Triduum. The Upper Room, the Last Supper and Jesus washing his disciples' feet. Here is today's d365 devotion with my humble additions

Presence of God
A quick look through the book of Psalms will reveal a theme that repeats itself again and again - the steadfast love of God.
When we look at Jesus we see the reflection of what God is like. In his life, in facing death, and in death itself, Jesus remained faithful in his love towards those he came to save.
As we journey through Holy Week, you will see the steadfast love of God again and again, fully revealed in the face of Jesus.

Word of God
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand...."

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
    John 13:1-7, 34-35

Devotion
On Thursday of that week Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. When he was finished he said, “Do you know what I have done for you? I’ve set an example for you. If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” In other words, you ought to be willing to stoop down and do the dirtiest work there is for the sake of your brothers and sisters. This is what real love looks like, Jesus would say. Love doesn’t care how dirty it gets. Love doesn’t ask how much it might hurt. Love just does the loving thing. And then Jesus said, “I’m giving you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.”

Ouch.

Are any of us ready for that? Can we love our brothers and sisters the way Jesus has loved us?
    Jim Somerville

BIG ouch. This has nothing to do with how anyone has treated us, as in ‘I haven’t had a raise in x years, so why should you get one?!’ or ‘when did you ever lift a finger to help ME out? And you think I should be helping YOU?!’

This love has nothing to do with ‘quid pro quo’; in fact, it witnesses to God’s love for us even more when our normal human response is NOT that kind of  ‘payback’ but rather, an unrestricted, bottomless outpouring of love. For no other reason than that is how we have been treated by God and because Jesus told us to do it.

REALLY big ouch.
    Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
Lord, fill me with the kind of love that lays itself down for its brothers and sisters. Somewhere right now there may be a brother or sister who needs my love, just as I need yours. Amen.

Benediction
O that you and I might be,
Like Jesus,
Faithful and true.

God grant us grace
That we might become,
Like Christ,
Steadfast in our love too. 

The command to love is for all who have been baptized. ALL. NO exceptions.

 The hardest part of  living out this command?  How do you love the pedophile?  The serial killer? The addict who is abusive to spouse and children? 

I guess that's why Jesus made it a commandment. Because he knew otherwise we would just toss it out without even a single thought.

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

Finally caught up again -- here is today's Holy Monday devotion from www.d365.org with my small additions.


Presence of God
A quick look through the book of Psalms will reveal a theme that repeats itself again and again - the steadfast love of God.
When we look at Jesus we see the reflection of what God is like. In his life, in facing death, and in death itself, Jesus remained faithful in his love towards those he came to save.
As we journey through Holy Week, you will see the steadfast love of God again and again, fully revealed in the face of Jesus.

Word of God
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
    John 12:1-11

Devotion
The sense of smell can stir up powerful memories. The smell of shoe polish can still take me back to my boyhood, when I used to shine my shoes before church every Sunday. I can remember just where I sat, and how much I hated that job.

What do you think the disciples felt in the years that followed Jesus’ death when they caught a whiff of expensive perfume? Did it take them back to that night in Bethany when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet? If it did, they might remember that Jesus was talking about being anointed for his burial, and it may have brought tears to their eyes.

But they might also remember that Lazarus — who had been raised from the dead — was right there with them. It may have helped them remember that — where Jesus is concerned — death never has the last word.
    Jim Somerville

What memories do you have that are triggered by certain smells? What does death smell like to you? To me, it will ever smell like newly sawn  wood and the dust of remodeling. We were at the last stages of an addition, ready for the carpet, when my mother was killed in the spring of 1983. And ever since, that is what I think of when I encounter that particular smell.

The sense of smell is the strongest memory trigger of all our five senses. I believe Mary’s act was both one of kindness to her beloved Lord AND one of inspired witness that lasted through the years. 

It is truly a sad thing that allergies make it impossible for churches to use scented oils and incense these days (and I am among them), for if exper-ienced from a young age, it can become a strong internalized remembrance of both death and life beyond death. I don’t think Jim intends for us to skip lightly past Thursday and Friday straight to Easter, but in reality we do go through them with a certain knowledge and hope that those followers who originally experienced the events were not privy to. Thanks be to God!
    Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
Lord, in this week when everybody seems to be talking about your death, help me remember that — where you are concerned — death never has the last word. It didn’t have the last word for you, and it won’t have the last word for me. Amen.

Benediction
O that you and I might be,
Like Jesus,
Faithful and true.

God grant us grace
That we might become,
Like Christ,
Steadfast in our love too.

Fresh water from the fountain and the calla beside it on my porch...

smells totally different (and conjures up totally different memories) than the ocean or even .... 

the bay measured in feet and yards from it.

As we continue through this holiest of weeks, may all our senses be on 'high alert' .... for signs of Christ's humble and royal presence with us, leading us through the fullness of our mortality to the reality of new life.

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

What can I say? I was just plain pooped out after Saturday and Sunday morning, I caught up on some much needed sleep and  will post both Palm Sunday and Holy Monday today. Again, the full devotion is from www.d365.org with my minor additions.

Presence of God
A quick look through the book of Psalms will reveal a theme that repeats itself again and again - the steadfast love of God.
When we look at Jesus we see the reflection of what God is like. In his life, in facing death, and in death itself, Jesus remained faithful in his love towards those he came to save.
As we journey through Holy Week, you will see the steadfast love of God again and again, fully revealed in the face of Jesus.

Word of God
When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'" So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, "The Lord needs it." Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."
    Luke 19:29-40

Devotion
Today is Palm Sunday. We call it that because this is the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people got so excited they started stripping branches off palm trees, waving them in the air, and shouting “Hosanna!”

Why did they get so excited? Because of an old prophecy from the book of Zechariah that promised them one day their king would come to them, “Humble, and riding on a donkey” (9:9). Why did Jesus do it? I believe he was giving the people of Jerusalem a chance to receive him as their king. Some of them did. Others, as we will soon learn, did not.

What about you? Will you receive Jesus as your king today? Will you let him rule over your life? Or will you, like those others, reject him?
    Jim Somerville

It’s a pretty stark and uncomfortable question the way Jim puts it. It is VERY either/or.  Let Jesus rule over your life... OR... REJECT HIM?  Isn't there just a little wiggle room for letting him rule most of the time? Like 98% of the time? Just not quite ALL of the time?

And why is it that we want to reserve those few times now and then to be able to rule on our own? To choose what WE want? To NOT be ruled by another, even Jesus our loving, humble savior king who has given his very self for us?

That’s the human conundrum we live with and fight against every single day simply because we are human ... broken ... flawed ... independence-cravers ....

I hope (and pray!) that you did indeed welcome Jesus as your king and invite him once more to rule over your life as much as you are able to let him. And that you pray daily that you can let him rule over you again just for today.
     Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
King Jesus, ride into my life today. Enter the throne room of my heart. Reign there forever. Amen.

Benediction
O that you and I might be,
Like Jesus,
Faithful and true.

God grant us grace
That we might become,
Like Christ,
Steadfast in our love too. 

How apt is the 'foreshadowing' of events this royal procession will ignite?

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

Today's full installment of the devotional found at www.d365.org with a few comments of my own thrown in.Sorry it's so late -- my great-niece skated a competition today (the one I go to each year) and took 2 2nd places and a 1st place .... it's her first year out of basic skating and into the bottom ranks of the skating federation rules, so please excuse a very happy 'Aunt Noah' (all she could make of Norma as a toddler!)

Presence of God
It's very easy to complain. It's easy to imagine that our sufferings, our struggles, are unlike any that others have experienced.
It's harder to see, especially in the tough times, that God's blessings are still around, that God remains faithful.
Look now to see what blessings God has in store for you today, especially if you are finding that hard to do.

Word of God
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
    Philippians 3:12-14

Devotion
Have you heard today's verses before? You belong to Christ. You are beloved. You can leave the past behind and go forward into the future. Your prize is not only heaven, it is God’s calling to you. This is why these verses are so useful for every single goal God calls you to throughout your life.

God cares about the whole journey of your life – not just the grace of your eternal nature, but the act of straining forward and pressing on towards your goals. This call pulling you into your own life is the Lord’s plan and hope for you. When you listen, follow, and choose how to express your unique life, you are pleasing God. Forgetting, pressing, and straining – it may not always be easy, but following your path will bless you and those around you. What is your goal now? Can you hear God’s call?
            by Denise Nickerson-Caudéran

And the tragic kicker here is: how few people actually DO leave the past behind in order to press and strain into the future God is calling them into? In my experience – at least in ministry – it would seem to be a lot more like being dragged kicking and screaming into the future, heels dug in .....

Is it because we don’t hear it as an invitation from God to pick up and go to this new place or do this new thing? Is it because we have become so fearful of the unknown ... lost that adventurous spirit with which our nation was founded? Is it because we are too wrapped up in our own goals to take a detour in life and try achieving God’s goals?

Whatever the reason, it is one of the key factors of why the church is stagnating and dying out in the western world these days. And figuring out how to grow people into imitators of Paul is one of the key factors in allowing the Spirit to make it grow again. Not to mention individual’s faith lives.
             by Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
God, you will lead me to the prize. Let me hear your calling. Give me the focus and perseverance to forge ahead. Through Christ I am yours. I give you the glory of my aspirations. Amen.

Benediction
God's blessings are raining down.
Walk with your face lifted up;
Lift your hands also to receive
The gift of God's presence,
The embrace of the One who is near. 

For my Keira, the goal is crystal clear ... and definitely out in front of her!

No heels dug in here ....

Just LAUNCHING forward toward it!

Oh, what joy in heaven if all God's precious children pressed toward God's goal for them...of growing more and more into the persons God created them to be!

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

Here's today's d365 daily devotion with my addition. For a full explanation, scroll back to March 21, 2013.

Presence of God
It's very easy to complain. It's easy to imagine that our sufferings, our struggles, are unlike any that others have experienced.
It's harder to see, especially in the tough times, that God's blessings are still around, that God remains faithful.
Look now to see what blessings God has in store for you today, especially if you are finding that hard to do.

Word of God
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.
    Philippians 3:7-9

Devotion
We are thankful for the blessings that God has showered upon us, but we are not supposed to mistake those blessings for some kind of evaluation of our worth or value. We are valuable because we are children of God and we are loved. The “rubbish” Paul is casting aside here is any status he may have been accorded by society because of his birthright and even his honorable behavior. He wants to clear away his ego in order to make room for salvation. He wants to clear out pride to make room for faith.

Our motivations matter to God. The next time you do the right thing, consider your driving force – is it pure love for God, or is it to preserve an image of yourself as a good person? Can you let go of your status in exchange for your true nature as someone who is eternally saved?
    By Denise Nickerson-Caudéran



 
Oh, how I DO LOVE the HUMOR and IRONY of our God! Just last night I shared a beautiful ‘poster’ on facebook of a dove and the words “Faith is seeing light when all you eyes see is darkness” – which I had immediately associated with the first verse from Hebrews 11 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  It was created by a page called ‘Positive Inspirational Quotes’. So of course, I shared it. Only to notice an hour later, when a parishioner reposted it from me, that there was one of those links below it to the full story about how Jane and John Doe made $50+ in 3 months...

Well, I was steamed at myself for not noticing and felt I had to put a disclaimer up about THAT part of the post. Here’s part of it (edited for brevity):

I abhor this so-called 'prosperity gospel' that is simply a way of letting people believe that those who have more wealth are being rewarded for having a stronger or better faith than those with less monetary wealth. That is bull-'stuff' and no more biblical than thinking people who get cancer (or leprosy) are being punished by God for their 'extra-bad' sins. Much of Jesus' ministry was to counter these false notions.

If we do something because we think it will show our great faith in God we will be disappointed. Faith is pure grace – unadorned love. Knowing that, our only motivation for any action in our lives should be a response of equally unadorned love. Nuff said.
    By Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God
Lord, you have blessed me with an eternal spirit through salvation. Cleanse me of attachment to my position and ambitions on earth. Open my heart to receive your most precious blessing so that I may live through your righteousness. Amen.


Benediction
God's blessings are raining down.
Walk with your face lifted up;
Lift your hands also to receive
The gift of God's presence,
The embrace of the One who is near. 

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, 
 if you have faith and do not doubt, 
you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, 
but even if you say to this mountain, 
‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”      
 Matthew 21:21-22

 

“Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation.” ~ Andrew Murray

 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

  

 

ENTERING JERUSALEM ONE MORE TIME

The Lord be with you!

For the next week and a half I am going to repost each day's 'Journey to the Cross' devotions (otherwise known as www.d365.org). The reason for posting them here and not just a link? I will be adding some comments to the devotions portion each day (and maybe a photo or two!). 

The theme for the rest of this week is: God Rains Blessings

I pray you are uplifted, as I am, by these brief but 'right on' and connected to real life daily devotions.
 

Presence of God
It's very easy to complain. It's easy to imagine that our sufferings,  our struggles, are unlike any that others have experienced.

It's harder to see, especially in the tough times, that God's blessings are still around, that God remains faithful.

Look now to see what blessings God has in store for you today, especially if you are finding that hard to do.

Word of God
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
    John 12:1-8

Devotion
Each day, we have the chance to pay attention, to be fully present. This dinner was a very special event for the people together there. Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, had the distinct honor of being raised from the dead. I’m sure he was happy to be alive, to have dinner with the Lord. Mary marked the sacred moment with a gift of expensive perfumed oil for Jesus’ feet.

Judas was counting pennies with what seemed like a valid point; but we are reminded of God’s all-seeing knowledge. Judas was really worried about what he might steal. Jesus was concerned for his friends who would soon have to let him go. In any situation, there is always more going on than meets the eye. Leaving God’s work to God, we can be authentic and attentive without the whole story. Today, can you make those you are with feel blessed by being present?
    Denise Nickerson-Caudéran

This really calls for a large dose of trust — that there IS a bigger picture that we can’t see AND that it is in God’s hands. What I hear Denise saying is that we have just so much time and energy each day; will we spend it worrying about all the little things that don’t seem to make perfect sense or have a logical, scientific answer? For when God is at work (and we don’t get in the way!) that’s when really great things happen! AND it is only when we focus on our one task at hand — and the person(s) placed in our path at that moment that we fulfill our calling at that time, and the Kingdom of heaven becomes real. That can’t happen when we are dwelling in the past, nor living only in visions and dreams of the future. The Kingdom of heaven is real on earth only when we are fully present (that connection of being authentically present to others), even just for a moment. And that leaves all who are involved in the experience feeling a deep joy and a kind of peace that is beyond explanation. Feeling blessed!
    Norma Prina Murphy

Conversation with God

When I give my attention, time, and gifts to others, I am blessed with connection. Let me connect to you and to my family and friends, following your example. God, make me fully present. Amen.

Benediction
God's blessings are raining down.
Walk with your face lifted up;
Lift your hands also to receive
The gift of God's presence,
The embrace of the One who is near. 

 

How better to be fully present to another than to pray together?

  

.... and pray for one another, ....      James 5:16

] 

 

These photos were taken at the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania during the 220th General Assembly of the PC(USA) held in our city last summer (July, 2012). These 2 plus myself were working a 4-hour prayer team session in the sanctuary and had prayed through pages (20+!) of prayer requests turned in at worship the day before.  Kay and David prayed, knowing I would be taking some pictures just as David and I had also prayed, knowing Kay would be shooting us. It is hard to find a situation when you feel comfortable about photographing people actually in prayer, not just posing.