Trials    

 

John 16:33  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:6-7  “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 

It’s all relative when we’re dealing with disappointments and trials. What may be a major catastrophe to one is but a pesky flea to another ("For that which is but a flea-biting to one, causeth insufferable torment to another"-Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, 1621). God makes this clear in my life, time and again. Recently, I was dealing with a minor health issue and feeling sorry for myself while reading the Humans of New York Facebook page. Humans of New York is the work of Brandon Stanton, a photographer who features stories of the people he photographs on the street. Currently, he is covering stories from refugees making their way across Europe. When I read the stories about people who have no choice but to get on a small plastic boat when they’ve given all of their savings to a smuggler who promises a better future, I feel like my problems are miniscule.

 

My choice is to believe that God is working in our lives, crafting these trials (whatever they may be) into something we can work with…fostering resilience, a better tomorrow, an appreciation for God’s sovereignty and love when our lot improves(or even when it doesn’t!), and, most importantly, trust in Him. While I can’t imagine what these people go through to secure a safer future for themselves and their families, I trust that God is with them in their tribulations, whatever the outcome may be. And we know that he is with us in our “pesky flea” sort of tribulations, also.

 

Dear Lord: I know that my problems are not always earth-shattering. Thank you for that! When it feels like they are, or if they turn into something that I feel I can’t handle, help me to remember that there is nothing that can keep you from leading me through them. Help me put my trust in You, day after day. Amen.

 

(To follow Humans of New York, go to: www.humansofnewyork.com or “like” the Facebook page.)

 

Change…. For Him     

 

Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

 

What is the first thing you think of when someone says change?  If you are like me the heart rate increases, the blood pressure elevates and the negative thoughts start running through my mind. The fact of the matter is that we have to live with change. Some change is forced on us, some is really good for us, and we can actually make a conscious effort to change.

A week or so ago a friend and I were visiting prior to the worship service and when it came time to go into the service invited me to join their family. I’m not sure what I actually said but I’m sure the thoughts in my head were … that’s the second row from the front!  I’m the fourth from the back, down the center aisle on the left hand side pew sitter. Long story short I joined her and survived. As the week went on several thoughts on change entered my mind, writing this devotional is only one of them. We are all such creatures of habit. I get up each morning about the same time and the routine down to what I eat for breakfast is about the same…boring; I park in the same area when I go to the grocery store (might be I don’t want to forget where I parked), and this lead me to think about at work how we had to change a meeting site and since this happened I’ve been playing a little game with my co-workers and never sitting in the same chair two days in a row. That whole week thoughts would enter my mind about change… a bible study I once attended was called: “If you want to walk on water you have to get out of the boat”. To me this means stretch yourself, grow, challenge, take a risk, and make a change. I remember sitting at a basketball camp and the coach said, “You’ll never be a good shooter if you don’t shoot the ball during a game.” This does makes perfect sense to me.

 

So I challenge you, take the risk, change it up, stretch yourself. You’ll never know what will happen if you deepen your relationship with God by joining a small group bible study or Sunday school class, or a committee or even simply meet new people in a different section of church. God wants to be part of this journey so don’t leave him out, change with his help.

Thought challenge: Just take one opportunity this week to change something, stretch yourself: i.e.: join a small group, sit in a different spot, offer a verbal prayer to a small group of people, visit or call a fellow Christian friend you lost touch with, volunteer for a project at church, etc.

 

Prayer: Dear God, Help me to do your will. Guide my actions, my thoughts, and walk with me each and every day. To be more like you, Christ, I need your help and faithful Christians in my life. Amen

 

Reprinted from “Daily Devotional Guide March 2010 By Members and Friends of the Congregation

Of Sheldon United Methodist Church”

 

 

 

Forgiveness  

 

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

“No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!”

 

Many years ago as I was walking the halls of the Sunday School rooms, I saw a large piece of paper on the wall. A class had written the word “forgive” on the sheet seventy times seven. The paper remained on the wall for many years and it caught my eye whenever I passed by. I hope it caught the eyes of others that passed by. Did Jesus mean that we should keep track of how many times we should forgive anyone? I think he meant we should forgive anyone who sins against us, no matter how many times. We need to remember to never stop forgiving others. Keep that word, forgive in your head. You will have a new lease on life when you forgive others.

 

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, help us to never stop forgiving others in our life, no matter how many times they sin against us. Amen.

 

Contributed by Susan Taylor

 

White rocks and red flowers  

 

Isaiah 11:3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear.

                                                                                                                                                                                              Luke 6:36-37 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

 

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

Each day on my way to work I pass a house on a busy intersection that brings to mind stories from recent headlines: a deserted-looking ramshackle house with a secluded backyard hiding something the owner doesn’t want us to see. This particular home has several sheets of plywood joined together with insulation foam, haphazardly framing the yard. Where the plywood doesn’t reach, there is bright blue tarp tacked up to prevent anyone from seeing into the yard. The home itself appears abandoned...broken windows, shrubbery growing into and on the house. And then that “fence”.

 

I don’t know who lives there, but I can imagine. Someone with something to hide, someone potentially dangerous. I’ve judged this person based on the appearance of their home and yard.

 

One day about a month ago, I noticed something new in the back, near the garage…a pathway of white rocks with a planter of red plastic flowers. Something about the arrangement implied care and an appreciation for beauty, even though it was small and simple.

 

Now, I still don’t know this person and I’m not saying just because there is now a pathway and flowers it must mean the owner is a loving, caring individual. But, maybe there are other reasons for a “hidden” yard. Maybe just being at a busy intersection is enough to crave a bit of privacy. I don’t know. I just feel like God was telling me: Wait a minute: Things are not always as they appear. Give others a chance. Don’t judge. Show mercy. So now, when I’m tempted to make a quick judgment on someone, I think “white rocks and red flowers”. Try it! You can even use my personal phrase.

 

Prayer: Lord, help us to notice others and not judge. We may find it helpful to make sense of the world around us and the people in it by judging them, but keep us open to your creation and what we can find in each individual. Give us open minds and hearts. Help us love others as you have loved us. Amen.

 

Contributed by Donna Gustafson

 

Revolution or Restoration?

 

Micah 4: 1-4 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be  established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

 

Psalm 90: 3 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

 

2 Peter 3: 8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 

I have been listening to a book about the making of the very popular hip-hop Broadway musical, “Hamilton:  The Revolution”.  I was very surprised to hear that the phrase “the vine and the fig” is included in the lyrics because it was in the favorite scripture of George Washington.  I’ve never heard George Washington had a favorite scripture, and I wondered what the prophet Micah might have said about “sitting under the vine and fig tree”, and what it could mean.  It turns out that during this period of war and strife, George Washington had a vision of providing a land where people could live out in the open in their own place of peace, as Micah prophesies in Micah 4:4. George Washington envisioned it occurring during his lifetime, and hoped to be able to help it to come true.  I don’t remember ever reading this passage from Micah, but found it to be a great promise.

 

When Micah made the prediction that President Washington loved, it was about times still to come, for them and for us. A time when the whole world will be at peace. It comes to pass in a world made by the Lord who established the highest of mountains.  It’s a time when all the people will flow to the house of the Lord.  In the verses that follow this passage, Micah prophesies the Babylonian exile and the return, which have already happened.  I love the way the final phrase in this passage is translated in The Message, “The God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so, and he means what he says.” Our hope comes from knowing that the “God-of-the-Angel-Armies” has a plan for peace and in the end, all will worship Him together.  God means what He says, and He keeps His word.

 

We feel so much division and divisiveness in our world.  People are afraid and at war, physically and emotionally. We pray to God to do something.  Now.  However, we are reminded many times in scripture, both in the Old and New Testament, that God’s time is not our time.  As Peter explains, God isn’t slow. He’s patient. His patience is so that all can come to follow Him before the end.  The time is coming, and we have work to do.

 

Prayer:  Dear Lord, You have always done what you’ve promised. And you will keep the promise made in Micah too.  Help me to do Your work in the world, so that when the time comes, there will be more people who enjoy your kingdom forever.  In this time of division and divisiveness, help me to remember that my hope is in You and that my true home is where You are.  Amen

 

Contributed by Lori Snyder-Sloan

 

 

 

 

 

ASH WEDNESDAY March 1

 

Most Gracious and Loving God, I seek this day to remember that I am dust and to dust I shall return.

God, why do I fear begin mortal? Perhaps I think it diminishes me in your sight.

And yet…

the flower that is here today and gone tomorrow is no

less precious to you simply because it is transitory.

the sparrow that falls to the ground is no less precious to you simply because of its frailty.

So with me. I’m previous to you even though all too soon my body

will be food for the worms.

Thank you, Lord, for assuring me of my infinite worth.

I can now face the real truth about myself, namely, that

I am dust, and to dust I shall return. And after…the

resurrection of the dead!

Amen.

  

 

This prayer was composed following an evening Ash Wednesday service at a small Episcopal Church in Glendora, California. It marked the beginning of my Lenten meditations from which these prayers originated.

 

~Richard J. Foster, Prayers From The Heart

 

 

Daily Devotion December 29, 2016

DEVOTIONS ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Devotion Readers,   We find the needs of our devotion ministry changing. To that end, we will be doing seasonal devotions in lieu of the daily emails in 2017.  In addition to Advent and Lent, we may also add a summer or fall book to the schedule.  These changes will keep the tradition and uniqueness of Eastridge members and friends as writers while expanding our readership to the entire congregation.   Our apologies for any disappointment in the new schedule. Please consider these devotional resources suggested by Pastor Thomas:     A. Denominational resources: http://www.presbyterianmission.org/yearbook/   The Mission Yearbook dates back to 1892 as a simple calendar of prayer to help women's societies pray for missionaries on designated days. It has the longest history of any denominational mission and prayer book in the United States. Since 2016, the yearbook is available as a free digital resource only, sharing its inspiring content in a timelier manner. The publication's esteemed history is reflected in the online version of the Mission Yearbook by connecting Presbyterians to the greater church and energizing them for mission.   https://www.presbyterianmission.org/devotion/daily/ Not a devotional as such, but daily scripture readings.   http://d365.org/  d365.org has been posting daily devotions since 2006, reflecting a new theme based upon the Revised Common Lectionary each week. d365.org is designed to inspire readers to live a relevant faith in a changing and complex world. The mobile app contains the same five devotional steps as the website: Pause, Listen, Think, Pray and Go. These steps allow the user to encounter Christ, reflect on scripture and receive encouragement to live out their faith d365.org is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and the Episcopal Church. It highlights the seasons of Advent and Lent, as well as a does a period of transition between summer and the beginning of each new school year.   (offers an app as well)     B. Some familiar resources (or not)   http://devotional.upperroom.org/ The Upper Room daily devotional guide contains meditations that show real people struggling to live faithfully in real-life situations, with the Bible as their guide. The Upper Room® daily devotional guide is the spiritual companion of more than 2.5 million people around the world. Each of the reader-written meditations encourages you to open your heart to God. Scripture readings and prayers included nourish your faith.   (email subscription available).   http://devozinemag.org/ devozine® was launched in 1996 after a youth group in South Dakota challenged the church to create a devotional magazine "just for teens." Now we celebrate our 20th anniversary with devozinemag.org.     C. A personal favorite   http://inwardoutward.org/ inward:outward - seeking the depths. a project of the church of the saviour.  (offers email subscriptions)     Thank you for your support of this ministry. Look for our Lenten devotion booklet March 1.   Cathy Schapmann Eastridge Devotions Coordinator devotions@eastridge.org