Morning devotions

Morning devotions ~ Peace Among Us

/ The Pastor

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” [Luke 2:14]

When Jesus was born…
~ The Roman empire didn’t suddenly fall.
~ Wars didn’t stop.
~ Hunger didn’t vanish.
~ Poverty didn’t disappear.
~ Diseases weren’t instantly cured.
~ World peace was not achieved.

None of these things happened, but peace did appear. And it appeared in the midst of this stuff. People often wonder and question:

If God is so loving then why is there war? Disease? Death of the young? Etc…

If these things exist then God can not. That is silly rationale and something that does not see or understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is that Jesus came in the midst of a fallen world (among it) to redeem creation from sin. Jesus came to save you. When Jesus was born, the very thing the angels sang about happened:

Peace came among us

And with that peace among us ~ Jesus ~ we can have the strength to face conflict, disease, hunger, death and anything this world throws at us; knowing that God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, has overcome this world by defeating the last enemy: Death. And our peace is that through faith in Jesus we too have overcome this world.

So live at peace is this chaotic, messed up world and hold onto the hope of the resurrection. Be at peace and sing with the angels:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Praise be to God!

The Pastor – |—

Morning devotions ~ Mouth Guard

/ The Pastor

“Set a guard, O Lord , over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!”  [Psalm 141:3]

How many times have you wished that you could take back something you said? Maybe you said something to a loved one out of anger or frustration? Maybe you snapped at your children out of anxiety over something at work. Maybe you just said something; trying to be funny, but it turned out to hurt the person. So many times I wish I could just reach out and grab those words and hope no one really heard them.

And how about written forms of communication: text messages, emails and social media interactions? We need a filter and to beware of the words and thoughts we put out there for people to read. People may forget something you said over time, but once you put something out there on the Internet it is there forever. The Internet does not forget. A text message or and email can be saved and read over and over again.

We need a mouth guard.

Ask God to set up a guard for your tongue. Seek wisdom for our words. Think twice before you speak and re-read what you write before you hit “send”. Do your words build people up? Do they glorify God?

“Holy God, make me mindful of my words that I may not cause harm to anyone. May my words serve to glorify you.”

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ The Right Stuff

/ The Pastor

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.” [Psalm 20:7-8]

Let’s add to these verses as if the psalmist were writing today. Some trust in:
~ Money
~ Credit cards
~ Athletic ability
~ Intelligence
~ Beauty
~ Big homes
~ Nice cars
~ Active social media accounts
~ Peaceful relationships
~ Family
~ Friends
~ Children

And we could go on, for you get the point, right? Basically, anything we fear losing or anything we run to (other than God) when times get tough. There is so much that we put our trust in and yet these things, people, etc have no power and no desire to hold us up or remain loyal. Anything and everything of this world will eventually collapse and fall. It’s like trying to find refuge on a pile of sand in a torrent rain fall.

Stupid
Foolish
Unwise

But name of the Lord is our stronghold; our firm foundation; and our hope. For only in the name of Jesus can we feel eternally secure. Only in the name of Jesus can we have a foundation that will not crumble. Only in the name of Jesus can we have something that will not let us down. I mean, look at the cross. It seemed to many that Jesus collapsed and fell when he died, but on the third day he rose and now stands firm. And now, through faith in him; trusting in the name of the Lord, we can stand firm as well.

Through him and him alone we have everything we need so put your trust in him and let those horses and chariots fade away.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ God’s handiwork

/ The Pastor

[1] The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1 ESV)

Walk outside and take a good look around. How does one think there is no God when you consider the intricate design of creation? How does one think that everything we see is nothing more than randomness? How does one base their system of beliefs on a claim that there is no God? But worse yet, if you believe in God how does one not fall on their face in worship and awe?

All around the heavens declare the glory of God. And that right there should make us feel guilty when WE do not declare the glory of God.
Creation cries out that God is awesome but yet we busy ourselves with the cares of this world.
Creation declares the greatness of God and we try to explain it away.
Creation and the heavens bow down in worship and what do we do?

God’s handiwork is all around us; we just need to look. But the greatest handiwork of all time is what happened in the manger at Christmas.. Through faith in Jesus, God has made a New Creation:

YOU!

Christmas is about love and peace coming to the world to complete what God started in creation. Through faith in Jesus we have forgiveness of sins and thus New Life. So take a new and fresh look at the manger this Christmas season and see God’s handiwork work there. And don’t forget to join the heavens in declaring God’s glory; for God is indeed worthy.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Morning devotions ~ Cleaning house

/ The Pastor

With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! (Psalm 119:10 ESV)

Seeking God requires more space than what we are willing to give. God wants our WHOLE heart and not just part of it. After all, there is so much to God that part just will not do.

For the psalmist here, he knows that clearing away stuff from his heart and seeking God with a clean slate is key to obedience. When we mix God’s commandments with anything else we get impurity and therefore we WILL wander away from God. And we are very good at doing this. We take a commandment of God and twist it to suit our own desires; turning God’s Word into something other than God’s holy Word.

But to clear away the junk in our heart and seek God with our WHOLE heart takes humility and that’s something that goes against the hard wiring of this world. We are sinful and therefore we want what we want and we want it now.

One of the quotes that I have found most helpful when I became a parent 1 1/2 years ago is this:

The best thing a man can do for his wife and children is to love God more than them.

For me this is key when it comes to what the psalmist is saying here. We need to love God above all things and all people…

…even our family.

Notice that I didn’t say we stop loving our family but rather love God more.

Make God THE priority in your life. Let your children see in your life who is King and Lord. Let the world see who rules in your heart. Clean house in your heart that you may completely seek God and not wander away. Clean house in your heart and seek to know God’s commandments better. Clean house in your heart and reserve your WHOLE heart for God’s holy Word.

May GOD be praised always and forever. Amen!

The pastor -|—

EASTER!

/ The Pastor

CHRIST HAS RISEN!

HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

ALLELUIA!

Enough said 🙂

Have a great Easter day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us pray,
Loving God, through the resurrection of Jesus, you son, you destroyed death and gave hope to the world.  May the words, “He has risen”, speak life to those gathered for worship that they may go out and speak these same words.  Bless those who preach and lead worship.  Bless those who lead music.  Bless those who work behind the scenes.  May you be glorified, may faith be created and/or strengthened and may our worship be pleasing in your sight.  Thank you, O God, for your awesome grace and mercy.  Through Jesus Christ our RISEN Lord and Savior, Amen!

The pastor -|—

Let us rejoice!

/ The Pastor

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it 🙂

Let us pray…

Holy God, we come before you in awe of you awesome love and grace. Mere words do not adequately express what you mean to us.  But we still come here this morning with various concerns and needs.  We come here with anxiety or worry; with illnesses or doubts.  At times we feel caged in and surrounded by the enemy.  But through Jesus you have overcome the world; you have defeated the enemy.  Please give us an overwhelming sense of this promise and instill in our hearts a peace that goes beyond all understanding.  May we know your awesome love and may you show us your amazing grace once again.  Please destroy all selfishness that we bring this morning so we may give you our complete attention; worshiping and praising your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

We indeed have a great God.  May you be blessed as you worship our holy and awesome God.  May your faith be strengthened through His holy Word.  And may your fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ serve to lift one another up.

May God bless your day.

The pastor -|—

Because you say so

/ The Pastor

Do we really need another reason?

Awesome and holy God, to look around is to see your awesome power and your holiness.  But too often we are blinded by our own short-sightedness.  We are distracted by our limited abilities and flawed wisdom.  If only we were to stop and listen and look would we see your faithfulness and strength and power.  You are holy.  You and you alone see the whole and complete picture.  May we respond to your voice; may we walk by faith and not by sight; may we marvel at the glory of your name.  Because you say so God, may we follow.  Because you say so may we listen.  Because you say so may we trust. Now may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our Rock and Redeemer, Amen.

May God bless your day 🙂

The pastor -|—

The Feast

/ The Pastor

This morning the preaching text is John 2:1-11; Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana. This miracle is labeled the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs.  It also serves as a bookend to the Gospel of John.  In this miracle we see the promise and then at the end of John we see how Jesus is going to accomplish the promise.

The promise ~ The best is yet to come.
How? ~ The cross and the empty tomb.

The rest of the Gospel of John fills in the blanks with proclamations of forgiveness; more miracles (in case this one wasn’t enough to show you that Jesus is the one who is to come), awesome acts of mercy, instructions on how to carry on with this ministry and encouragement to endure to the end.  The Gospel of John is plump full of “good stuff” that carries us to the BEST of what is to come.  This life is not it so don’t cling to it as if it is.

Let’s pray together as we prepare to worship this morning:
Loving God, through Jesus you show us that you have prepared something much better for us.  Through Jesus you give us hope that this world is not our final reality.  Through Jesus you give us a foretaste of the feast to come; a great feast that will have no end.  May we not cling to this life as if it is the final course.  May we not try to build this life in such a way that it ends up being our final course.  But…may this life just be a teaser for the Great Banquet that has been prepared and where; through faith in Jesus, we have a seat reserved.  Tempt our “taste buds” to seek Jesus more and more. And may we also seek to share this feast with others.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

The table has been set, let us feast together 🙂

The pastor -|—

Morning preparations

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Loving and gracious God, I come before you today ready to worship.  Not just during the “organized” time with others but right now and every minute after this.  And as I come ready to worship I come ready to hear a word from you.  May my heart be ready to receive so that you may be glorified in my life.

Lord God, I also lift up to you all those called to preach your word; those pastors and lay ministers preparing to lead worship.  May they be faithful in their task and bold to proclaim your word.  It is too often tempting to tame things down so we might appeal better to others, but may we not be swayed by man but be led by your Spirit.

Faithful God, I also lift up to you all others who are preparing for this day.  May they, through your Spirit, remember what you have done for them in Jesus and be led to worship; for you are worthy.  

O God, you are so worthy.

Thank you for your grace; for it is through your grace that we may have any hope beyond this life.  Thank you for your love; for it is through your love that you offer us forgiveness.  Thank you for your mercy; for it is through your mercy that we are saved.

O God, you are so worthy.  May your name be praised always and forever.  In Jesus name I pray…Amen!

May God bless your day 🙂

The pastor -|—