Lent Devotional: Guide

March 30, 2020March 30, 2020Leave a comment

Listen to my prayer, Lord!
Because of your faithfulness, hear my requests for mercy!
Because of your righteousness, answer me!
Please don’t bring your servant to judgment,
because no living thing is righteous before you.
The enemy is chasing me,
crushing my life in the dirt,
forcing me to live in the dark
like those who’ve been dead forever.
My spirit is weak inside me—
inside, my mind is numb.
I remember the days long past;
I meditate on all your deeds;
I contemplate your handiwork
I stretch out my hands to you;
my whole being is like dry dirt, thirsting for you. Selah
Answer me, Lord—and quickly! My breath is fading.
Don’t hide your face from me
or I’ll be like those going down to the pit!
Tell me all about your faithful love come morning time,
because I trust you.
Show me the way I should go,
because I offer my life up to you.
Deliver me from my enemies, Lord!
I seek protection from you.
Teach me to do what pleases you,
because you are my God.
Guide me by your good spirit
into good land.
Make me live again, Lord, for your name’s sake.”
Bring me out of distress because of your righteousness.
Wipe out my enemies because of your faithful love.
Destroy everyone who attacks me,
because I am your servant.
Psalm 143 CEB (via Biblegateway)

Who is your guide?

Last May, I joined eleven other people of faith for the Missional Wisdom Foundation’s pilgrimage to the tiny Isle of Iona, Scotland. We traced the steps of many others who have made the journey to Iona and its famous abbey for hundreds of years. The purpose of our pilgrimage was to pull away for a time of retreat in one of the world’s “thin places,” a place on earth where the veil between heaven and earth seems thin. It truly is a breathtaking, sacred place – a place to experience God’s presence.

It would be nearly impossible to arrive on the tiny island of Iona by accident. Christian pilgrims have been making the journey for hundreds of years. From the United States, it involves taking flights to London and Glasgow, followed by a 4 hour train ride to the north of Scotland, a 1 hour ferry boat trip, 1 hour bus trip, and finally another 45 minute ferry ride. We then walked a half mile trek to the hostel for our week of community living.

This journey was possible because we had experienced and knowledgeable guides leading the way. They patiently but directly made sure all of the pilgrims made it to the right stations along the way on time, knowing that a delay anywhere along the journey would have ripple effect on everyone. The journey was made possible because we had dependable guides every step of the way.

It occurs to me that we are collectively on an unchartered journey right now, one none of us saw coming. It doesn’t seem that we have the benefit of being guided by a physical human being who has experienced global pandemic before. The journey feels treacherous, scary, hard. It’s overwhelming if we try to look too far down the road, but we can all go just one step at a time.

And yet, what we can remember as we take each small step together, is that none of us are on this journey alone. You are not alone. As the Psalmist reminds us, God is full of faithful love for us each morning, ready to show us the way to go. While this journey is difficult, we can trust that God is by our side, directing us on the way to go. May we find protection with God on our side, and the peace that passes all understanding as we remember that God is with us.

Prayer: Shepherding God, we believe that you are will us, guiding us and protecting us. We count on your faithfulness and know you to be a God who loves and cares for your children. We pray for your healing throughout our world and we put our trust in you. Please wrap your arms of love around us. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Questions for reflection: How has God directed your steps in life? Who is on this journey with you? Who can you reach out to today to remind them that they are not alone (and in the process remember that you are not alone either)?

Lent Devotional: Fault

March 29, 2020March 9, 2020Leave a comment

Lent Devotional: Justice

March 23, 2020March 23, 2020Leave a comment

“This is why it’s especially important for those of us who come to the Bible from positions of relative social, economic, and racial privilege to read its stories alongside people from marginalized communities, past and present, who are often more practiced at tracing the crimson thread of justice through its pages.”
-Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

I am finding it difficult to write about justice today. What we are all enduring now, a global pandemic, feels terribly unfair, doesn’t it? Yet it is something that ties us all together.

We are learning each that we have more in common than we thought – we are equal. Even though we try to separate ourselves from others, this coronavirus outbreak makes no distinction between nationalities, races, cultures, religions, occupations, socioeconomic status. The virus does not ask who it infects about their accomplishments, their religious beliefs, citizenship status, skin color, sexual preference or gender.

In our humanity, we are all vulnerable.

In our common humanity, this outbreak reminds us that, even though we make great efforts to highlight how different we are from one another, we are inextricably tied to one another. We are dependent upon one another and our actions affect the whole. While this has always been true, our perspective may change as we see glimpses of both the best and worst of humanity. It is my prayer that we as people of faith emerge from this with a new sense of community.

My heart aches with the tenderness of this truth: Each and every life is sacred, precious. Each and every day is a gift, not to be taken for granted. We can love one another best by all working together to limit the spread of a virus. As we move slowly through the days ahead of us, may we be people who honor one another with love and justice, kindness and generosity. May God be glorified by our actions.

Scripture for today: Psalm 146, Acts 9:1-20

Reflection Questions: How is it with your soul? What is something you can do today to help someone in need? Who do you need to talk to today?

Prayer: Holy and loving God, our hearts ache as we consider how our world is hurting today. We pray for your loving arms of comfort to surround us. Heal those who are sick and brokenhearted. Help us to be agents of healing, justice and mercy for your people. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Lent Devotional: Darkness

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020Leave a comment

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
Genesis 1:1-5 ESV

From the beginning, light has been good. It is human nature to avoid the darkness.

In the darkness, we cannot find our way. We stumble. In the darkness, we face the unknown. We feel afraid. In the darkness, our thoughts may be overcome with fear, worry, doubt and worst-case-scenarios. Darkness is hard.

In the darkness, we want to close ourselves off, pull inward, hide in our fear. In the darkness, we want to cling desperately on to anything that will make us feel more secure.

In this time of pandemic, are we in a time of darkness? Consider this familiar passage:

“And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And in the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ““Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.”
Mark 15:33-37 ESV

At Jesus’ death, his followers were swept into darkness. Imagine their fear and uncertainty. The bad news just kept coming. Many ran and hid, denying the hope they knew in their teacher, afraid of persecution, scared of the dark. Perhaps we are living in a week in which we can relate a little too well.

And yet, the story does not end in darkness. Oh people of faith! Remember that we are resurrection people! The story never ends in darkness. In the famous words of Frederick Buechner, “Resurrection means the worst thing is never the last thing.”

In this time of apparent darkness, we are called to be the children of light, the people of faith we have been all along. With renewed meaning, we can hold securely on to promises of Scripture 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” and Psalm 18:28 “For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.”

My prayer for you today is that you find hope in remembering that you are a child of God. God is faithful to light our path, God will guide us through any darkness, God will overcome the darkness.

My urging for you is to be a light for others today. Reach out to ones who may feel hopeless, lost and alone. Pray for people who are afraid. Check in on neighbors. As you share a message of compassion, hope, love and concern for a neighbor today, may you also find peace in remembering that you are a person who knows the Good News.

Suggested scriptures for today: John 1:1-5, Psalm 139

Reflection Questions: What is a practical way you can be hope and peace and love in your community right now? Who is one person you can reach out to today who may need to know someone cares about them?

Lent Devotional: Trap

March 11, 2020March 11, 2020Leave a comment

When have you felt trapped?

Sometimes there are stories that we tell ourselves that entrap us. We get stuck in untrue stories we say about ourselves: I’m not good enough. I can’t. I am not capable. This is the way it always has been. This is just how I am expected to be. I am not strong enough. Things can’t change.

These false stories cage us, limiting our abilities to create full lives for the glory of God.

Jesus tells a story about an unnamed woman who feels trapped:

“And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he returned to the temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and taught them. The legal experts and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery. Placing her in the center of the group, they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery.In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone women like this. What do you say?” They said this to test him, because they wanted a reason to bring an accusation against him. Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

They continued to question him, so he stood up and replied, “Whoever hasn’t sinned should throw the first stone.” Bending down again, he wrote on the ground. Those who heard him went away, one by one, beginning with the elders. Finally, only Jesus and the woman were left in the middle of the crowd.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Is there no one to condemn you?”

She said, “No one, sir.”

Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, don’t sin anymore.

John 8:1-11 (Common English Bible via BibleGateway)

The people around her are also trapped in continuing the same old storylines. Jesus does what Jesus does best – he disrupts the storyline. He allow space for a new story to be told – one of the new choices, one of freedom, one of dignity.

What are the stories you have chosen to believe? How can you begin a new chapter of your life?

Prayer:

Author of life,

Like a caged bird, I have too often let lies, doubt and even my own sins trap me and hold me back. I ask you to give me the courage to re-write my story. Let my life be a story of freedom, peace, and the joy found in you alone. Amen.

Lent Devotional: Remember

March 5, 2020March 5, 2020Leave a comment

Can you remember when God carried you through something very difficult?

Every week, members of New World United Methodist Church come around a table at a local family shelter for an evening of fellowship, prayer and creating art. Residents in the shelter are there for many different reasons – job losses, deaths in the family, fleeing domestic violence, unexpected illnesses or other expenses.

Art brings people together. The act of creating art has a powerful way of bringing about calm, healing and empowerment. We choose to create art with residents of a local shelter because many of the families are in desperate need of space for calm, connection, dignity and love.

Each week we have a different project and a different theme. In the picture, we are creating very special prayer beads, “ebenezer beads.” You might recognize the word “ebenezer” from the hymn “Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing.” My favorite verse goes like this:

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here there by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home

What in the world is an ebenezer, you ask, and why are we raising one? The Hebrew word literally means “stone of help.” The song is a reference to the book of 1 Samuel:

Samuel took a stone and set it up . . . and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

In the story, Samuel is raising a special monument in gratitude for God’s faithfulness as the Israelites defeated the powerful Philistines. Samuel wants to make sure that all who come to this place remember what God has done for God’s people. We are called to remember.

In our prayer bead project, each participant was invited to include a few handmade beads made the week before. As they pray with their beads, these special beads serve as a reminder that God will faithfully bring each family through life’s difficult times of transition.

May we all remember that God is faithful.

Prayer: Dear God, we remember the times in our life when you brought us through difficult circumstances and we thank you. We pray for people in our community who are experiencing homelessness. Lead us to be messengers of your mercy, love and grace. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Suggested Scripture:

I’m grateful to God, whom I serve with a good conscience as my ancestors did. I constantly remember you in my prayers day and night. When I remember your tears, I long to see you so that I can be filled with happiness.I’m reminded of your authentic faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. I’m sure that this faith is also inside you.Because of this, I’m reminding you to revive God’s gift that is in you through the laying on of my hands.God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.

2 Timothy 1:3-7

Reflection Questions:

Remember a time you went through something difficult. How did God bring you through that? How can you thank God for God’s faithfulness?

Lent Devotional: Tension

March 3, 2020March 2, 2020Leave a comment

I handed the 5×5 Rubik’s Cube pictured here to my spouse and said, “Here, want to solve this real quick for me?”

He chuckled and replied, “No, that’s not how those things work.”

I know there are specific steps to follow, but I have not yet solved a Rubik’s Cube. While I’m not sure where to begin, my teenager whips through them.

There’s a tension in the unresolved things of life, isn’t there?

I can’t bear a puzzle with one piece missing.

Or a checklist with just one box left undone.

Is there anything worse than a song that is cut silent before the chord meant to resolve it?

A cliffhanger on your favorite TV Series keeps you suspended in tension.

Today is an Election Day and our country’s political system – comprised of imperfect people – will always be unresolved. Tension is part of our daily life, part of what it means to be in community.

And yet, we can have a sense of peace in the midst of the tension. No matter what struggles we face now, people of faith live with the blessed assurance that all things will work together for good. As we live in the tension between the “already and not-yet” in the kingdom of God, we can have peace in knowing we are never abandoned.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for being with us through all of life’s tensions. Create in us a clean heart, ready to share your complete peace with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflection questions:

1. What causes tension in your life today? How can you release it?

2. When do you feel God’s peace?

Lent Photo Challenge Devotional: Hunger

February 29, 2020February 28, 2020Leave a comment

“The kingdom, Jesus taught, is right here — present yet hidden, immanent yet transcendent. It is at hand — among us and beyond us, now and not-yet. The kingdom of heaven, he said, belongs to the poor, the meek, the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who hunger and thirst for God. It advances not through power and might, but through missions of mercy, kindness, and humility. In this kingdom, many who are last will be first and many who are first will be last. The rich don’t usually get it, Jesus said, but children always do. This is a kingdom whose savior arrives not on a warhorse, but a donkey, not through triumph and conquest, but through death and resurrection. This kingdom is the only kingdom that will last.”

– Rachel Held Evans
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

What does it mean to hunger for God?

When I was working in youth ministry, one of my favorite events to lead was the World Vision 30 Hour Famine. During this event, students and brave adults fast for 30 hours, drinking only juice at mealtimes and skipping out on a dinner, snacks, breakfast and lunch. While fasting, we would play games, learn facts about world hunger, do service projects, and experience first-hand how going without food affects your mental and physical abilities. We developed empathy for the world’s hungry.

After 30 hours, we relished the opportunity to break our fast with communion followed by dinner. Nothing tastes sweeter than a generous helping of communion bread when you long to be fed.

In my privileged life, I have never really had to worry about whether I would eat again. The practice of fasting helped me to appreciate the sense of being empty, longing for nourishment and being filled.

Fasting from food helped me realize my deep hunger. I longed to be nourished with real food, not empty calories.

In the spiritual life, we long for real connection, not shallow faith.

I pray that, in the same way I anticipated that first bite of communion bread, I can also long to be filled with the spirit of God.

Prayer:

Dear God, we thank you for being a God who meets our needs faithfully. Teach us to be people who hunger and thirst for you. Amen.

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 58:1-12

Shout loudly; don’t hold back;
    raise your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their crime,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
²They seek me day after day,
    desiring knowledge of my ways
    like a nation that acted righteously,
    that didn’t abandon their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments,
    wanting to be close to God.
³“Why do we fast and you don’t see;
    why afflict ourselves and you don’t notice?”
Yet on your fast day you do whatever you want,
    and oppress all your workers.
⁴You quarrel and brawl, and then you fast;
    you hit each other violently with your fists.
You shouldn’t fast as you are doing today
    if you want to make your voice heard on high.
⁵Is this the kind of fast I choose,
    a day of self-affliction,
    of bending one’s head like a reed
    and of lying down in mourning clothing and ashes?
    Is this what you call a fast,
        a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶Isn’t this the fast I choose:
releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke,
setting free the mistreated,
and breaking every yoke?
⁷Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry
and bringing the homeless poor into your house,
covering the naked when you see them,
and not hiding from your own family?
⁸Then your light will break out like the dawn,
and you will be healed quickly.
Your own righteousness will walk before you,
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.
⁹Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the finger-pointing, the wicked speech;
¹⁰if you open your heart to the hungry,
and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,
your light will shine in the darkness,
and your gloom will be like the noon.
¹¹The Lord will guide you continually
and provide for you, even in parched places.
He will rescue your bones.
You will be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water that won’t run dry.
¹²They will rebuild ancient ruins on your account;
the foundations of generations past you will restore.
You will be called Mender of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Livable Streets. (Source: Biblegateway.com)

To learn more about the Lent Photo Challenge #NWUMCLent, click here.

Lent Photo Challenge Devotional: News

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020Leave a comment

“You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly – that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”

– Anne Lamott

Where were you when you last received news that brought you to tears?

Last December I got a phone call with news that rocked my world. What I learned was that my dad has cancer, and his future is uncertain. While we are always hopeful, finding out that someone I love is facing a battle for his life has shifted my priorities and helped me to realize what is important versus what is “urgent.” While I would never ask for this kind of news, it’s a blessing to have a reminder of what in life is most important – and the answer is your relationships with people, friends, family, and not work, busy-ness and achievement.

No matter what news you may receive, may you be blessed with learning to dance in a beautiful, life-honoring way. Life is beautiful, complicated and messy. It is full of news – good and bad. And the best news of all is that we have a God who walks alongside and dances with us no matter our circumstances.

ESJ

Prayer:

God of Good News, thank you for the blessings you give abundantly, for dancing with us throughout life. Thank you for the people and relationships who fill our lives with love. Amen.

Suggested Reading – Romans 1:8-17:

⁸First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because the news about your faithfulness is being spread throughout the whole world. ⁹I serve God in my spirit by preaching the good news about God’s Son, and God is my witness that I continually mention you ¹⁰in all my prayers. I’m always asking that somehow, by God’s will, I might succeed in visiting you at last. ¹¹I really want to see you to pass along some spiritual gift to you so that you can be strengthened. ¹²What I mean is that we can mutually encourage each other while I am with you. We can be encouraged by the faithfulness we find in each other, both your faithfulness and mine.

¹³I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I planned to visit you many times, although I have been prevented from coming until now. I want to harvest some fruit among you, just as I have done among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴I have a responsibility both to Greeks and to those who don’t speak Greek, both to the wise and to the foolish.

¹⁵That’s why I’m ready to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. ¹⁶I’m not ashamed of the gospel: it is God’s own power for salvation to all who have faith in God, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷God’s righteousness is being revealed in the gospel, from faithfulness for faith, as it is written, The righteous person will live by faith. (Source: BibleGateway.com)

Click here to learn more about the Lent Photo Challenge #NWUMCLent

Lent Photo Challenge Devotional: Give Up

February 26, 2020February 25, 2020Leave a comment

In the face of a rare, possibly fatal colon cancer, author Kate Bowler wrote:

“At a time when I should have felt abandoned by God, I was not reduced to ashes. I felt like I was floating, floating on the love and prayers of all those who hummed around me like worker bees, bringing notes and flowers and warm socks and quilts embroidered with words of encouragement. They came in like priests and mirrored back to me the face of Jesus.” (from Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I Have Loved)

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. During the next few weeks leading up to Easter, Christians traditionally observe the time with prayer, fasting and penance in preparation for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Today, Ash Wednesday, emphasizes our own mortality and our need to confess our sins.

We remember today that we are made from dust, and to dust we shall return.

At New World United Methodist Church, this Lent we are moving through a sermon series called “Giving Up.” In this life, there are many things we get caught up in that would be good for us to give up. As our culture chases wealth, accumulation, division, fear and greed, we can choose a different approach.

Many Christians commit to giving up something for the season of Lent. We give up things like eating meat on Fridays, eating chocolate, consuming social media, or drinking caffeine. Alternatively, we can give up some of our idle time and take up a spiritual practice like daily journaling, prayer or quiet time. Either way, the small sacrifices made are intended to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice made through Jesus Christ.

May you be blessed this Lent with a deep sense of hope, an utter refusal to give up faith and joy no matter life’s circumstances.

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank you for ushering in this new Christian season today. Thank you for the reminder of our own mortality, as well as the gift of life you have given us. May we use this time to reflect your love to others. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Reflection Questions:

Are you giving up something for Lent?

What are ways you can reflect the face of Jesus to people around you this season?

Suggested reading: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21:

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

²“Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. ³But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing ⁴so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

⁵“When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. ⁶But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

¹⁶“And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. ¹⁷When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. ¹⁸Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

¹⁹“Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. ²⁰Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. ²¹Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (source: Biblegateway.com)

Click here to learn more about the Lent Photo Challenge #NWUMCLent

Mission and Art

Thoughts from a Pastor, Artist, Speaker, Mom, and Friend.

Category: United Methodist

Lent Devotional: Guide

Lent Devotional: Fault

Lent Devotional: Darkness

Lent Devotional: Trap

Lent Devotional: Tension

Lent Photo Challenge Devotional: News

Lent Photo Challenge Devotional: Give Up