One of the ways of staying connected with each other is this daily online devotional page.  You will find that it is a little different each day as we try to ensure that we offer a range of different types of devotional materials.  Some may seem more appealing to you than others but it is our hope that, in this variety, you might find some that seem to connect well for you.  We hope you will find these devotions to be life-giving as we make our way through the coming weeks.

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Tuesday June 30th

  Tomorrow is Canada Day and we will take a sabbath from our devotionals for that day, so today we will turn to our weekly Pray-As-You-Go devotional, and consider Jesus’ call for us to trust in him, even in the midst of life’s storms.

Here is the link for today:   https://pray-as-you-go.org/player/prayer/2020-06-30  

May God bless you with the gift of peace today, Dianne  

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Monday June 29th

From “Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals” (June 29th p. 337-338)

One of the ways we see the wisdom of the early church is in their placing Peter and Paul’s saint days together so that they have a shared celebration, thereby making sure that there was no room for divisions over their leadership, even with their disagreements. (It may be that the church forgot this wisdom in the Reformation, with Rome claiming Peter’s authority and Paul becoming the hero of Protestants.) The early church was quite clear that the first pastor and the first theologian of the faith had to be held in equal respect and in equal balance of authority.

One without the other leaves us incomplete and unbalanced.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you

as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come let us bow down and bend the knee: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

Our eyes are turned to you, O Lord: our eyes are turned to you.

Psalm 141:1, 3-6

O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly: hear my voice when I cry to you.

Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord, and guard the door of my lips: let not my heart incline to any evil thing.

Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers: nor eat of their choice foods.

Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke;let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head:

for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.

Let their rulers be overthrown in stony places: that they may know my words are true.

Our eyes are turned to you, O Lord: our eyes are turned to you.

Ezekiel 39:21-29                     Acts 13:13-25

Our eyes are turned to you, O Lord: our eyes are turned to you.
 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, wrote, “The first law of our being is that we are set in a delicate network of interdependence with our fellow human beings and with the rest of God’s creation.”

Prayers for Others

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

 

Lord, you promise never to leave us or forsake us. Since we are always in your presence, help us always to keep our eyes fixed upon you that we might follow your lead in the never-ending dance of your life as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,

wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness,

protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing,

at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing,

once again into our doors. Amen

 

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Saturday, June 27th     Psalms 91:1-4  

As a psalm of protection, 91 is commonly invoked in times of hardship. 

Though no author is mentioned in the Hebrew text of this psalm, Jewish tradition ascribes it to Moses, with David compiling it in his Book of Psalms.

 

1 You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in     

   *Shaddai's shadow, (*one of the names of God in the Hebrew bible)

2 Say this: "God, you're my refuge. I trust in you and I'm safe!" 

3 That's right - he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from

   deadly hazards. 

4 His huge outstretched arms protect you - under them you're perfectly

   safe; his arms fend off all harm.

                     (taken from Eugene Peterson’s book The Message)

Another translation says of vs 4a

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge…

God is WITH us and God is FOR us.  Even when we aren’t thinking about Him or feeling “spiritual” or are ready to give up because we’ve become discouraged, when things feel hopeless or we are weighed down with regret or sadness. 

God knows when we are hurt, when we are unable to cope, when we are weak and tired.  He cares.  He is there beside us, ready to encourage us, refresh us, comfort us and protect us. But we are not devoid of responsibility.  Our job is fairly simple, but not easy.  Our role is to trust in Him completely, to cast all our worries and fears to Him.

Paul reminds us in 1 Peter 5: 6a -7 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you.

Sometimes it is Important to remind ourselves of the ways God cares for us, his children.

He’s always with us   (Psalm 16:8) I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken.

He loves us   (Zephaniah 3:17) The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

He comforts us   (Psalm 94:19) When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
(2 Corinthians 1:3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.
 
He heals us   (Psalm 147:3) He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.

He offers wisdom   (James 1:5)  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

He is the source of our hope for the future   (Jeremiah 29:11) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

(Matthew 28:20) …And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Be encouraged by these promises of God and by the testimony of others who have trusted in Him.  Is there an area of your life that is filled with stress or worry that you need to take to God and entrust to Him?   

Take a moment to ask yourself these questions:

In what way is God my refuge?

What difficulties am I facing now that I can trust God to help me with?

What will I do differently in the face of these difficulties if I am trusting in God?

I pray that today you will find God’s ever-loving arms around you, giving you renewed hope and spiritual refreshment.

Here are a couple of song selections that put our psalm text to music:

You, O Lord, are my Refuge (by the ZOE group)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvOtEjl1-rI

 

You Are My Refuge (by Shannon Wexelberg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fv0w6HzCo0

 

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Friday, June 26th

Why do we pray?  I suspect that there have been times when we have all wondered about this. Do we pray to change things?  Do we pray to change ourselves?  Even sometimes one wonders, do we pray to change God’s mind?  Some might suggest that  asking (or even thinking) such questions is in some way unfaithful.  I would respectfully disagree with that perspective.  While I truly believe there is no way we can fully answer the question of why we pray, that does not mean it is not a good question that is worth asking. 

Prayer does change things.  The dynamics of how this happens are honestly beyond my ability to understand or explain and are, I believe, far more diverse and wonderful than can ever know.  But they are there all the same.  We discover that truth as we commit ourselves to be people who pray.  Things change.  I think it’s safe to say that people who pray are “agents of change.”  Which brings me to today’s devotional.  It comes to us from the rich writings of Henri Nouwen and is a reflection on the deep change that comes as we pray.  Could it be that, in order to bring about the changes in this world so many are longing for, big changes in how we think about, see and treat each other, it is vital that we bathe our actions in prayer?  Even more, is it possible that in some way beyond our knowing, prayer is itself a vital action?  If people who pray are truly agents of change then that means that, far from being passive, committing to pray for our world and for the aspects of it that grieve us deeply may be the first and most essential “activist” thing we can do. 

I’ll leave that with you as we each come together to pray in our own ways today.

Here is the link to the Nouwen devotional:

https://henrinouwen.org/meditation/creating-the-new-world-to-come/

May God’s blessing be upon you today,

Dianne

 

Thursday, June 25, 2020

I’m thinking that this might be the last one of these things I get to contribute to, as I retire from the full-time ministry biz next week. I’m honestly not sure what retirement really looks like … but I guess I’ll find out. What I do know is that while my weekly schedule is about to change, the call I have to follow Jesus will surely carry on in some different form. To use a cultivation metaphor, my senses is that I’m just being replanted in a different part of the garden. The work of a disciple will always be with me, as it is for all who would respond to Jesus’ call to “follow me.” As I’ve begun to ponder with some enthusiasm and anticipation as to what that might look like, I ran across this article by Alice Clark that I believe could be helpful for all of us who are looking to use our time faithfully. Enjoy!

Blessings

Phil

 

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Wednesday, June 24th

Today in our prayer with Pray-As-You-Go we are invited to consider God’s leading and call in our lives. Even more we sit with the invitation to “be” the people of God, involved in God’s work and purposes in this world.

May God’s blessing be upon you today,

Dianne

Pray-as-you-go Wed. June 24

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Tuesday, June 23rd

God gifted the world with a long, deep and meaningful ministry through Eugene Peterson’s work. Peterson is perhaps most widely known as the pastor and scholar behind The Message translation of the bible. Much of Peterson’s work was focused on finding ways to help people to pray. Today we draw from the devotional “The Message: Solo, An Uncommon Devotional” which was compiled by Peterson as another way for us to come to God in prayer, listening for what God would say to us through the stories of scripture. This prayer moves through four steps, ‘read’, ‘think’, ‘pray’ and ‘live’. In this movement we create space to both speak to and listen for God today.

May you be blessed in your time with God today, Dianne

 

From: “The Message: Solo, An Uncommon Devotional” by Eugene Peterson (Day 16)

Passage for the day: Deuteronomy 10:12-21

1.     READ

Read the passage aloud slowly.

2.     THINK

Read it aloud slowly again, considering:

•    What phrase is most memorable?

•    What quality of God stands out to you? Why?

•    What command stands out to you? Why?

3.      PRAY

Here are some ways to pray back the passage. Use as many of these suggestions as you wish.

•    Express to God your thoughts about living in his presence. Has living in his presence been important to you or not?

•    Express to God those areas in which you would guess he considers you ‘hardheaded.’ (Pause and let this come to you. Don’t necessarily go with the first thing that comes to mind.)

•    Express to God your feelings about the have-nots you know (widows, orphans, foreigners). Talk to God honestly about how willing or unwilling you’ve been to include such people in your life.

4.      LIVE

Experiment with living in God’s presence while caring for the rest of the world. Relax. Quiet yourself. Just be.

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Monday, June 22nd

In his sermon yesterday we heard Phil teach us about the importance of keeping God’s character in mind as we come to the stories of scripture (and to the stories of our lives). In today’s liturgical prayer we consider some central parts of who and how God is. God’s loving- kindness, faithfulness and goodness are what draw us to sing of His glory.

May the blessing of our good and kind God be with you today, Dianne

From “Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals” (June 22nd p. 329-330)


O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you
as the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Come let us sing to the Lord: let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Exalt yourself above the heavens: and your glory over all the earth.

Psalm 108:1-4
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and make melody.
Wake up my spirit; awake, lute and harp: I myself will waken the dawn.
I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord: I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens: and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Exalt yourself above the heavens: and your glory over all the earth.

Ruth 4:1-17              Acts 10:17-33

Exalt yourself above the heavens: and your glory over all the earth.

Catherine of Genoa said, “All goodness is a participation in God and his love for his creatures.”

Prayers for Others

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens; your faithfulness stretches to the sky. Lift us by the power of your Holy Spirit to participate in your goodness and bear witness to your loving- kindness in every move we make today. Amen.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you.
May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.
May he bring you home rejoicing, at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing, once again into our doors. Amen