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Archive for the ‘Time Up to Pentecost’ Category

King of the Earth

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , on May 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Psalm 47:2
How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!

This morning I was really floundering around as I looked for a verse or thought that I could meditate upon and then write about. My mind was like an empty cave: nobody home! My prayer life tends to operate so much on the edge, on the stress side of things: asking, begging, pleading, hoping, longing, crying out to God for something, for help. When the cave is empty of fears and anxieties, I’m a little lost. 🙂 I’m not used to a contented or calm interior self. That’s amazing!

And so, I give thanks for the “Om” within today. I give thanks to the King of the Earth, who is sovereign over all that is without and within. I give thanks and praise to the God of my mind, my heart, my soul.

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Are You Blind?

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost on May 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 18:35
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.

Immediately prior to Jesus and the disciples meeting the blind man on the road, Jesus had just explained in detail what would be happening to him (mocked, insulted, spat upon, flogged & killed)… and they didn’t understand any of it. They were blinded to the truth.

When they reach the blind man in the road, he asks who it is and then he asks for mercy from Jesus. He asked for his sight and he received it.

If we are blinded … it is important to ask for help. To ask for revelation. To ask to to see. There is much we don’t understand about our world and our lives. Sometimes, the answer lies in the simplicity of asking for God to remove the veil from our eyes.

Show me truth today Lord.

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Beginnings

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

It’s a strange time to have a beginning, the middle of May, but that’s just how it has worked out. Last year, I had just finished facilitating the Seeking Him bible study and felt convicted to dedicate myself to the discipline of a daily devotion time. I have not been perfect, but I have also not given up my quest, which for me, is all good!

Today is the beginning of my second year and I consider the importance of beginning with the Word. He is my source and my strength. He is the One with whom I want a primary relationship. It is in Him I hope and trust.

Last year my theme was based on Ps 25:1, “To You O Lord I lift up my soul.” But this year, I believe I will be pursuing discernment (…And this is my prayer: that [my] love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that [I] may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ… (Philippians 1:9-10).

May the meditations continue in this light and my thanks to those who share this journey with me.

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Finding Messiah

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , on May 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 1:41
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).

We have lost the wonder of discovery. Unlike us, the disciples as well as all of the Jewish people of that time, were waiting for the Messiah. It was prophesied that he would come and each generation looked for the signs of his coming.

In some ways, I am reminded of the personal joy and even ecstasy that many African-Americans felt about Barack Obama. The wonder of it all when it finally happened: an African-American lifted to the highest office.

John describes Andrew as the first disciple to follow after Jesus. After spending a day with him, he runs to his brother with his news of finding the Messiah, the one foretold, the beginning of something unknown and the transformation of their world.

When we find Messiah in our own lives, we are changed forever. There is wonder in that message, our personal story of discovery. Who will you tell today?

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Warnings

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 21:11
And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Jesus, like many of the earlier prophets, spent much of his teaching time warning people of what was to come, from his own death to the end time. I don’t believe the point of his warnings was to generate fear but a desire for change.

Prophets, futurists and fortune tellers alike base their predictions on what has been and what is now. They look at the trajectory. But the future can change if we change! We must pay attention to the warnings and the possibilities and if we want a different future, we must act.

With all of our wars, pestilences, famines, storms, and pollution, our earth’s trajectory is destruction. When looking at that “big picture” it is overwhelming and yes, even frightening. What can I possibly do to change this path?

If people’s hearts can be healed by love, then the earth can be healed in the same way. I know it sounds so corny, but truthfully, if we are not in relationship with our environment as well as our society, caring for them as we care for our own loved ones, who will? Koinonia (community) is not just the people, it’s place.

I am so small in this, but today, I will think on and do the small things that I can. I will bless my neighbor. I will bless my family and I will bless the earth, so lovingly given by God.

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Here is Your Mother

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , on May 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

John 19:26
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son.”

At the cross, Jesus passed the responsibility of caring for his mother to his close friend and disciple, John. He also bequeathed his friend to his mother.

This is an interesting exchange since Mary had other sons. It was not like she would be bereft after Jesus’ death. Nor is it that Jesus was so terribly close to his mother as an adult, although it is possible that she traveled with the disciples since there are references to women who accompanied the disciples. (e.g. Matthew 27:55) I believe Jesus was asking them to be united as family, to adopt one another.

Adoption is a major theme in our church and in our family. Over the years that we have attended Mt. Zion, over 70 families have adopted children. In our own family, we have adopted three orphaned children from Eastern Europe, now all teenagers. Adopting is only one aspect of orphan care… as there are millions of children around the world who cannot be adopted because of illness, circumstances, or country of origin. These children are also looking for a mother.

If each family in the Western world (with even modest means) would adopt an orphan child, whether financially (sponsoring a child), emotionally (fostering or mentoring a child), or literally (bringing a child into the family), the tragic stories could end or, at the very least, dramatically improve.

I consider my “motherhood” to be a gift from God.

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Unfailing Love

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , on May 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Psalm 32:5b, 22
…the earth is full of his unfailing love… May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

The earth is full of examples of God’s love. Today, we have sunshine after long days of rain. The fields and grass are vibrant and green. The flowers are blooming. Early in the morning, the birds sing and celebrate a new day; Children laugh, dogs bark, cats purr. Oh the glory! How can I miss it?

The promise of God’s love is unfailing.

There is only one condition to experience this unfailing love: hope. We are asked to place our hope in His unfailing love. And as we do this, we will have the strength to face anything, to survive anything, to stand.

Whether we are in pain or not, whether we are whole or not, whether we are rich or poor, strong or weak, political or apolitical, victim or victor, soldier or slave, does not change God’s unfailing love. The difference is my acknowledgment of this love in the midst of it all. This is a choice.

Today, this is my mantra: My hope is in God’s unfailing love.

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