Views

The views expressed here are those of each individual devotion writer. Thank you to our writers for their contributions to this ministry!

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Wandering Heart: "Teach Me": Poem

Teach me

Teach me about the ways of the wind,

about the ways of the world,

about the ways of the heart.

Teach me about the soft crook of my lover’s arm,

and the way two souls can hold each other close.

Teach me about forgiveness, about the language

of I’m sorry

and the softness of sincerity.

Teach me about abundance, about

seventy-times-seven

and all the days of my life.

Teach me about joy, about its contagious weaving

and its soul-healing.

Teach me about mercy, about open hands and

deep breaths.

Teach me about the dawn of time and the stars

in the sky.

Teach me what matters most.

Teach me what is mine to do.

Teach this achingly curious heart

until I run out of questions

or I run out of days.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

and I will have a life well-lived.

Poem by Rev. Sarah Speed

reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art

Monday, March 18, 2024

Wandering Heart: "Teach Me": Commentary

Read Matthew 18:15-22 | Psalm 119:9-16

Commentary | Dr. Terence Lester

One day, Pastor Wesley came to our office. He told us that a church in Madison, Georgia, wanted to donate a 30-passenger bus to Love Beyond Walls. His church had declined it, but he asked if we could use it. For some reason, I said yes. Within a few days, the church generously donated the bus to us.

Then, with the blessing of my family and our Board, I decided to live in a tent on top of the bus for 30 days during the freezing winter. I wanted to raise awareness about this bus and to transform it into Atlanta’s first mobile makeover unit. I wanted to highlight the fact that the people we serve lack basic amenities like running water and grooming services. I told myself, “This work is too important to let the flame die out.” Word spread, and many showed up to help us transform the bus.

We reached out to local barbering schools and met Jamil, who was 27 and had just earned his license. He volunteered at Love Beyond Walls almost every week. One day, I asked him why he volunteered. Jamil replied, “My dad is unhoused and I haven’t seen him since I graduated 10 years ago. I don’t know where he is, and I’m just hoping that one day I’ll run into him.”

Jamil ended up giving his father a makeover on the streets. His dad had no idea that his son had become a barber, but it became a turning point for him. He entered a program, graduated from it, found work as a chef, and now has his own apartment. Forgiveness happened through an act of faith on Jamil’s part. His father wasn’t there for 10 years, but Jamil’s desire to repair the relationship remained strong.

In Matthew 18:15-22, Jesus teaches about community and repair. Peter, eager to learn, asks him a follow-up question. Jesus gives an expansive answer, emphasizing the abundance of forgiveness. This story shows the importance of asking questions and expanding our faith, especially when we’re comfortable not having all the answers and we’re open to seeing the world in more nuanced ways.

Jesus’ response to Peter’s question about forgiveness highlights the ambiguous math of grace. Peter learns about abundant grace.

It’s about letting go of rigid limits and embracing the limitless possibilities of forgiveness and repair. Just as in Jamil’s story, where one act of faith led to forgiveness and transformation, Jesus’ teachings remind us of the power of forgiveness to make the community whole. 

Peter’s encounter with Jesus serves as a poignant reminder of the profound lessons embedded in forgiveness. Forgiveness is a boundless wellspring of grace. Repair is vital, both within ourselves and in our relationships with others. This story encourages us to embrace the transformative power of forgiveness and work toward reconciliation and healing. It inspires us to open ourselves to the expansive grace of God. By doing so, we can create a world where forgiveness mends what is broken, and where the beauty of repair shines through, illuminating our shared humanity.

Reflect: Who in your life needs forgiveness? Is there anything you need to forgive yourself for?

reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art

Friday, March 15, 2024

Are You Walking in the Faith?

And this is another parable that He put before them: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.  As a seed, the mustard seed, is smaller than any other; but when it has grown it is bigger than any other garden plant; it becomes a tree, big enough for the birds to come and roost among its branches. Matthew 13:31-32 NEB

You’re probably wondering what in the world the parable of the mustard seed has to do with walking.  Well, because its Lent I’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus, and how He taught us about God’s Kingdom through the parables. “The Mustard Seed,” is my favorite parable and I was discussing it with a friend from bible study.

Often while reading a parable, I do some extra reading in an endeavor to better understand its meaning or perhaps discover a hidden meaning.   I’ve learned that people in different “walks” of life tell us different things about what the parables might mean. 

For example, regarding the parable of the mustard seed, bible scholars tell us that Jesus probably wasn’t talking about the yellow mustard seed, those little round yellow seeds we see floating in the brine of bread and butter pickles. It is the opinion of these scholars that Jesus was talking about the black mustard seed.

Botanists tell us that the black mustard seed’s botanical name is brassica nigra, and it is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family. You probably know these vegetables as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. They are called cruciferous because the flowers on these plants only have 4 petals each and are shaped like a cross. Cross-shaped is the definition of the word cruciferous.    

People in the medical field tell us that we have 4 cruciate (cross-shaped) ligaments in our knees. We are the most familiar with the term ACL (because we so often hear of it as being involved in football injuries). ACL means anterior cruciate ligament. The other cruciate ligaments in our knees are posterior, medial and collateral. (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary) 

To me, all of this means that God has marked each of us with the emblem of Christianity. With the signs of the cross in our knees, he has claimed us as His own even before we are born.  Perhaps this also means that with each step we take we are “walking in the faith” towards Him.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we praise and thank You for all the miracles You work in our lives. We confess that often we don’t even see them. Help us, we pray, to walk towards You with each step we take that we might be more like Jesus every day. We ask it in His name. Amen 

Judy Welch   

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Wandering Heart: "I'm fixed upon it": Commentary

Read Matthew 16:21-23 | Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Commentary | Dr. Terence Lester

It was one of the toughest nights in my life. I had just received the “Humanitarian of the Year” award from the National Urban League of Greater Atlanta for the work we do with Love Beyond Walls. The evening had ended around 11 p.m. after a celebration with friends. As we left, I casually said, “I’ll talk to you later. Be safe!” Little did I know how ironic those words would soon become. My wife Cecilia drove, and I went to sleep. Ten minutes later, I was jolted upright by Cecilia’s screams. We had narrowly escaped a car accident.

The car in front of us had come to an abrupt stop. The driver had become distracted by a child vomiting in the back seat and hit the brakes. Airbags deployed, and then I was on the ground. The impact of the airbag had driven me back into my seat and broken it. Moments later, the EMTs arrived and rushed me to hospital. The pain was indescribable. I discovered that my right hip and pelvis were fractured, and I suffered nerve damage. Emergency surgery followed to place a ten-pound rod in my leg to prevent it from crushing a vital artery.

It was a whirlwind of events. I had gone to receive an award and I ended up in hospital. Previously, I had found worth in my work and believed that God was with me. That belief came crashing down in a single, devastating moment that left me grappling with my faith. Have you ever experienced something like this, where life shatters and makes you question everything? We, too, can encounter upheaval and crisis, and our hearts may wander as we seek answers and meaning.

As I reflect on my journey, I’m reminded of a pivotal moment for Peter. Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God—a mountaintop experience of unwavering faith. Yet, he immediately faces a reality that challenges his understanding of Jesus and faith itself. Jesus reveals the difficult path ahead—suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection. It seems incongruent with Peter’s vision of a triumphant Messiah who would establish an earthly kingdom. Peter instinctively seeks to avoid the hardship, grief, and struggle. This leads to a rebuke from Jesus: “Get behind me, Satan!” It’s a sharp reminder that sometimes our well-intentioned desires to protect and preserve can become stumbling blocks to fulfilling our calling.

Peter’s faith journey, like my own, reminds us that faith doesn’t always shield us from hardship. As we reflect on Peter’s journey and the challenges of our own faith, let us remember that unraveling can lead to profound growth. Like Peter, we may have to face inconvenient truths and drop our preconceived notions. Jesus’ response to Peter reminds us of the importance of our commitment to God’s mission, even when it’s difficult. May we learn from Peter and embrace the transformative power of faith.

Sometimes, it is by leaning into grief that we begin the journey of healing in our own lives and in our relationship with God. This is because grief isn't about fixing what has happened as much as it is about learning new ways to navigate the realities that cause us to feel disoriented. Let us set our hearts and minds upon God's grace, trusting that we are always guided by the unwavering love of our Creator, even in the midst of grief and unexpected suffering.

Reflect: When have you faced a hard truth, a reality that was difficult to accept? How did you respond?

Reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Wandering Heart: "I'm fixed upon it": From the Artist


Read Matthew 16:21-23

From the Artist | Hannah Garrity

“God forbid it!” says Peter to Jesus (Matthew 16:22). In this image, Peter beseeches Jesus to avoid the cross, to not let the prophecies become reality.

After ten years in ministry, I work in a church for the first time. In this text, I feel Jesus speaking directly to me: “You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Matthew 16:23). This is exactly where frustration surfaces for me in my amazing church job. It is when I have set my eye on human things. I worry about the budget. I worry about the email. I worry about the building. So why am I so focused on human things? And the negative ones, at that?

Because I’m human. Because these things matter. But not if I miss the grandeur of this incredible organization sharing the expansive love of God!

With every brush stroke in this ink painting, the humanity of Peter’s face deepens, his expression clarifies. He cannot let his beloved friend be murdered. He worries about human things. How weighty and legitimate those things feel. Jesus seems free of those human worries. He focuses with confidence on the path ahead, though Peter’s concern causes him to falter.

Perhaps we can each be free of human concerns as well… However, that feels like a pipe dream, and Jesus knows it: “Get behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23). He does not blame Peter. Instead, he calls out Satan from within his friend. In doing so, he offers us a much-needed reminder to refocus. Thanks be to God.

Reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art

 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Wandering Heart: "I'm fixed upon it": Open Hands

Open Hands

We are born with the ability

to wrap our fingers around another,

to hold tight to what we know.

Maybe that’s where the instinct comes from—

this clinging,

this sinking,

this holding on.

Maybe that’s why Peter cries, “Never!”

when Jesus must leave.

From the very beginning

we’ve known how to hold tight.

So I pray:

open up my hands.

Uncurl my fingers

one by one.

Loosen the grip

that I hold unyielding.

Remind me that birds must fly

and children must grow

and leaves must fall.

And even though

we are born with the ability

to hold tight,

we can learn how to love

with open hands.

Poem by Rev. Sarah Speed

Reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art